Report: Pirates' Cervelli open to contract extension

Francisco Cervelli flourished in his first year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and now he's willing to put down roots.

The catcher is interested in negotiating a long-term contract extension with the club, according to Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review.

Sawchik's sources estimate it would take a contract of three years and $39 million to convince Cervelli to stay instead of becoming a free agent at the end of the 2016 campaign. He avoided arbitration earlier this month by agreeing to a one-year, $3.5-million deal with the Pirates.

"We do not discuss negotiations - potential or active - publicly," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said when asked about Cervelli's future with the team. "We like Cervelli a lot and would welcome the chance to have him remain a Pirate in the event we are able to find a contract that makes sense for both the player and the club.

"We are also fortunate to have two quality catching prospects that are near major-league ready in case we are not able to reach common financial ground."

The prospects Huntington is presumably referring to are Reese McGuire and Elias Diaz. McGuire is the fourth-ranked catching prospect while Diaz is the sixth, according to MLB.com.

Cervelli, who was brought in to replace Russell Martin last year, hit an impressive .295/.370/.401 with seven homers and 43 RBIs in 130 contests. His 3.8 WAR was second among big-league catchers only to San Francisco Giants backstop Buster Posey (5.7).