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02-05-2003, 02:02 AM
Pirates recoup money; Insurance carrier settles Meares case
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
By Robert Dvorchak, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
The Pirates will be able recover a significant amount but not all of the money owed to Pat Meares on the final two years of his contract, bringing an end to an ordeal that has dogged the franchise for years.
The insurance carrier Cigna agreed with the Pirates' claim that Meares is a disabled player. Terms of the settlement were not made public. The Pirates will not recover all of the $7.5 million Meares is owed for 2002 and '03, but it is believed at least 70 cents on the dollar will be recouped.
Meares is still on the Pirates' roster but will spend this season on the disabled list, just as he did last season because of an injury to his left hand. In October, he dropped a grievance against the Pirates that contended he could still play. He also agreed that he would not attend spring training.
Because his contract was guaranteed, Meares will receive the full amount of a four-year, $15 million contract he signed in 1999. He got the contract after he was injured in spring training but before Cam Bonifay, then the general manager, realized he needed surgery.
"They have honored the claim and have paid the amount they were required," said Larry Silverman, the Pirates' legal counsel and vice president. "Nobody's happy with the end result, but it has been resolved. The insurance carrier agreed that the injury just never healed and that he was not going to play at the major-league level again."
The Pirates, like other professional franchises, routinely take out insurance on guaranteed contracts.
In Meares' case, he was signed to a one-year contract when his left hand was injured after he swung a bat in the final spring training game of 1999. He later signed a $15 million contract extension before it was determined that the injury was more serious than originally diagnosed. Surgery was done to repair a small fractured bone and to splice torn tendons in the last two fingers of his hand.
Meares was able to play in 2000 and '01, but his hand was 30 percent weaker than it was before surgery and his production dropped precipitously. Able to grip a bat with just the top two fingers of his left hand, Meares tried rehab but ruled out having additional surgery after consulting a number of specialists and receiving conflicting medical opinions.
For $15 million, Meares had 196 hits, 17 home runs and 79 RBIs.
In other matters, an arbitration hearing for Randall Simon is scheduled for Feb. 19, but he could agree to contract terms before then. The Pirates have offered $1.3 million and Simon is seeking $1.85 million.
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Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959.
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
By Robert Dvorchak, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
The Pirates will be able recover a significant amount but not all of the money owed to Pat Meares on the final two years of his contract, bringing an end to an ordeal that has dogged the franchise for years.
The insurance carrier Cigna agreed with the Pirates' claim that Meares is a disabled player. Terms of the settlement were not made public. The Pirates will not recover all of the $7.5 million Meares is owed for 2002 and '03, but it is believed at least 70 cents on the dollar will be recouped.
Meares is still on the Pirates' roster but will spend this season on the disabled list, just as he did last season because of an injury to his left hand. In October, he dropped a grievance against the Pirates that contended he could still play. He also agreed that he would not attend spring training.
Because his contract was guaranteed, Meares will receive the full amount of a four-year, $15 million contract he signed in 1999. He got the contract after he was injured in spring training but before Cam Bonifay, then the general manager, realized he needed surgery.
"They have honored the claim and have paid the amount they were required," said Larry Silverman, the Pirates' legal counsel and vice president. "Nobody's happy with the end result, but it has been resolved. The insurance carrier agreed that the injury just never healed and that he was not going to play at the major-league level again."
The Pirates, like other professional franchises, routinely take out insurance on guaranteed contracts.
In Meares' case, he was signed to a one-year contract when his left hand was injured after he swung a bat in the final spring training game of 1999. He later signed a $15 million contract extension before it was determined that the injury was more serious than originally diagnosed. Surgery was done to repair a small fractured bone and to splice torn tendons in the last two fingers of his hand.
Meares was able to play in 2000 and '01, but his hand was 30 percent weaker than it was before surgery and his production dropped precipitously. Able to grip a bat with just the top two fingers of his left hand, Meares tried rehab but ruled out having additional surgery after consulting a number of specialists and receiving conflicting medical opinions.
For $15 million, Meares had 196 hits, 17 home runs and 79 RBIs.
In other matters, an arbitration hearing for Randall Simon is scheduled for Feb. 19, but he could agree to contract terms before then. The Pirates have offered $1.3 million and Simon is seeking $1.85 million.
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Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959.