MLB | Ryan Doumit, Pirates agree on deal

PITTSBURGH — Catcher Ryan Doumit and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed Monday to an $11.5 million, three-year contract that includes a team option that could make the deal worth $26.5 million over five seasons.

Doumit, a 1999 Moses Lake High School graduate, reached the deal less than a year after becoming the Pirates' starting catcher. The 27-year-old hit .318 with 15 home runs and drove in 69 runs in 431 at-bats after beating out former starter Ronny Paulino early in the season.

Doumit's 15 homers were the most by a Pirates catcher since Mark Parent hit 15 in 1995 and were two off the team record. His .323 average while catching led the National League and his .407 average with runners in scoring position was easily the best in the league by a player with more than 100 at-bats.

Earlier this month, the Pirates traded Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies for catching prospect Jason Jaramillo. Paulino spent most of last season in the minors.

Doumit, who has a history of injuries, made $412,000 this year.

Before the season, he was a part-time player who averaged 211 at-bats from 2005 to 2007. Manager John Russell, a former catcher hired before last season, liked Doumit's bat and worked with him all season to improve his defense and his handling of pitchers.

Pittsburgh must decide after the 2011 season whether to exercise the option covering both 2012 and 2013.

"With a contract like this comes high expectations," Doumit said at a news conference. "No one has higher expectations of me than I do. I believe in myself. I know what kind of player I can be and I know what type of player the fans expect."

Doumit gets a $300,000 signing bonus, $2.05 million next year, $3.55 million in 2010 and $5.1 million in 2011. The deal includes a $7.25 million team option for 2012 with a $500,000 buyout, and exercising that option also triggers an $8.25 million option for 2013.

Notes

• Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, 28, and the New York Yankees avoided salary arbitration when they agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract.

Wang was 8-2 with a 4.07 earned-run average in 15 starts last season before injuring a foot while running the bases at Houston in mid-June. He did not return.

• The Yankees, who failed to make the playoffs this year, were hit with their highest luxury tax in three years. They were assessed a $26.9 million tax by the commissioner's office, up from $23.9 million last year and their biggest bill since paying nearly $34 million for 2005.

The Detroit Tigers, who also failed to qualify for the postseason, are the only other team that must pay tax and owe $1.3 million to the commissioner's office.

New York's payroll was $222.2 million and Detroit was second at $160.8 million for the purpose of computing the luxury tax.

• Starting pitcher Daniel Cabrera, 27, and the Washington Nationals have reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical that his agent said is slated for next week.

Cabrera went 8-10 with a 5.25 ERA in 30 starts last season for Baltimore.

• Shortstop Rafael Furcal denies he backed out of a deal he had with the Atlanta Braves before agreeing to a three-year contract last week to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"We never, not my agents nor me, agreed to anything with the Braves," the 31-year-old Furcal said.

• Yankees catcher Damian Taveras and Baltimore pitcher Ambiorix Suero were suspended for 50 games each after positive tests for banned performance-enhancing substances under the program for minor-leaguers.