Pirates claim money not behind Donnelly release

The Pirates will be on the hook for the rest of Brendan Donnelly’s $1.35 million salary. He also recently reached two performance bonus levels, each worth $75,000. Donnelly’s contract included incentive clauses based on number of appearances, which could have been worth up to $1.65 million. He said he was close to triggering a clause worth $150,000 and that his bonuses were $175,000 for every five outings after that. Team president Frank Coonelly said the bonus money was not a factor in the decision to jettison Donnelly. “The move was made only for baseball reasons,” Coonelly said. “It was made in an effort to upgrade the bullpen.” — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review