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Good deal for the Pirates, locked him up cheap.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed outfielder Jose Tabata to a six-year contract extension.
The Pirates announced Sunday that the deal comes with club options for 2017, 2018 and 2019.
A source close to the negotiations told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas on Friday that Tabata's salary increases to $500,000 this season, along with a $1 million signing bonus in 2011. Tabata will make $750,000 in 2012, $1 million in 2013, $3 million in 2014, $4 million in 2015 and $4.5 million in 2016.
The source also said that Tabata broke apart from his former agency -- ACES, Inc. -- because of his negotiations with the Pirates.
"There were philosophical differences over some aspects of the contract, but there's still a lot of respect," the source said. "In the best interest of both, the parties decided to separate, without ruling out the possibility of working together again."
The 23-year-old Tabata is hitting .267 with 17 RBIs in 75 games this year with the Pirates. He also has four home runs, 14 doubles and 15 stolen bases.
Tabata made his major league debut last year on June 9 and hit .299 with 35 RBIs in 102 games.
Following the All-Star break, he produced a .322 average, which ranked seventh among all National League hitters. He had 93 hits, second in the league behind Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez.
Tabata was acquired by the Pirates from the New York Yankees in 2008.
Tabata would have been arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2014.