What is impact of Freese deal on Pirates?

PITTSBURGH — Pirates infielder David Freese signed a two-year, $11 million contract extension on Monday, making him the latest in a growing line of players to commit to Pittsburgh for the long haul.

“It’s the best street cred in the game,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “When you develop that type of culture and you have this type of environment, these are some of the byproducts.”

And these deals come with byproducts of their own, fallout that affects the Pirates’ present and future. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Financial flexibility After packaging two prospects to trade Francisco Liriano and his nearly $18 million in remaining salary, general manager Neal Huntington vowed the Pirates would use that “financial flexibility” to strengthen the club. In signing Freese, Huntington almost immediately put his words into action.

“This is a direct example of having some flexibility, of having some breathing room,” Huntington said. “To be able to get creative, maybe to stretch beyond what we normally would be boxed into, it did help a little bit.”

The Pirates will have other holes to fill this offseason, however, particularly in the bullpen. The club now has a little more than $59 million committed to players under guaranteed contracts in 2017, with several arbitration-eligible players — Gerrit Cole chief among them — due for significant raises.

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