Alvarez, a power-hitting third baseman from Vanderbilt, originally agreed to a minor league contract with a $6 million signing bonus. He instead receives a major league deal that guarantees him $6,355,000.

Hosmer, a first baseman, receives the same deal he agreed to early Aug. 16, a minor league contract with a $6 million signing bonus. Both players were represented by agent Scott Boras.

The Pirates may have felt some urgency to renegotiate with Alvarez because, if the arbitrator ruled in favor of the union and determined the club negotiated past the deadline, they risked losing Alvarez - and, possibly, a 2009 compensatory pick.

Pirates president Frank Coonelly contends the new contract is essentially the same because the club will pay Alvarez over four years, rather than two, and thus will benefit from inflation. Boras disagreed, saying Alvarez is getting more money.

Under a major league contract, Alvarez would make $8.15 million if he is on the major league roster every day of all four seasons.

"Once he was given a fair negotiation, he received a contract proposal that was much different from the one that was previously offered," Boras said.

Alvarez also disputed the Pirates' contention that Boras didn't allow him to negotiate and think on his own, saying, "Throughout this whole process, I wanted a fair trial, a fair negotiation. ... I thought for myself and made decisions for myself."

Under the agreement between MLB and the union, terms of major league contracts for draft picks must be confirmed by both the commissioner's office and the union by the midnight Aug. 15 deadline. Terms of minor league contracts must be received by MLB by e-mail or fax by the midnight deadline.

"The rules - and I was one of the people that helped draft them - were not as clear as they should have been, and the players' association and the commissioner's office in the settlement ... set out very detailed rules that will govern next year and in the future under this CBA," said Coonelly, a former MLB legal counsel. "There won't be any extensions granted, whether they're signed off by one or more than one party."

Boras, unhappy in the past with the Coonelly-designed slotting system for draft picks, disagreed again.

"I don't think the rules have changed at all. I think the fact is the remedies for enforcement of the rules have been clarified in the sense that the arbitrator now has rules that are clarified where he can void a contract and move forward," Boras said. "This process was really about a fair negotiation."

Alvarez will receive a signing bonus in four $1.5 million installments, with one payment Dec. 24 and three payments on each June 15 starting in 2009. He is guaranteed annual salaries of $88,750 in the minor leagues and if he is on the major league roster during the entire season, he would get $400,000 next year, $500,000 in 2010, $550,000 in 2011 and $700,000 in 2012.

Under his original deal, Alvarez would have received his signing bonus in two installments of $3 million, payable 90 days after approval and next June 1.

Alvarez will report by this weekend to the Pirates' Florida Instructional League team in Bradenton, although it wraps up in about three weeks. He could play in the Hawaii fall league, but only if a spot opens up - the Pirates don't want to pull a player they've already assigned.

"Nothing's going to stop me now from being the best player I can be," Alvarez said.

To make room on their 40-man roster for Alvarez, the Pirates shifted left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

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