Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR is covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections. We'll use this post to keep tabs on players avoiding arbitration today:
- The Nationals announced on Twitter that they have avoided arbitration with lefty Ross Detwiler. The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports (also on Twitter) that Detwiler received a $3MM salary and can earn an additional $50K for reaching 180 innings.
- Sherman reports that the Mets and Eric Young Jr. have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.85MM (Twitter link). Young batted .251/.318/.329 in 418 plate appearances for the Mets in 2013 after he was acquired from the Rockies. He also swiped 38 bases in 45 tries, showing off his blazing speed.
- Sherman tweets that the Pirates have avoided arbitration with Travis Snider by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2MM contract. The former Top 10 overall prospect batted just .215/.281/.333 in 285 plate appearances in 2013, though he's a solid defender and is still entering just his age-26 season.
- Sherman also reports that Tim Collins agreed to a one-year, $1.3625MM contract with the Royals, thereby avoiding arbitration (Twitter link). Collins has a strong 3.51 ERA in 190 career innings with 9.7 K/9 in his first three seasons, but he's struggled with command, as evidenced by his 5.2 BB/9 in that time. His control has improved a bit over the past two seasons.
- The Yankees and Francisco Cervelli have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $700K, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Cervelli, who turns 28 in March, is a career .271/.343/.367 hitter in 623 plate appearances.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Reds have avoided arbitration with outfielder Chris Heisey by agreeing to a one-year, $1.76MM contract. Heisey, who batted .237/.279/.415 with nine homers in 244 plate appearances last season, earned slightly more than Swartz's projection of $1.7MM. Though decreases in his walk rate and BABIP caused his numbers to suffer in 2013, Heisey is a solid defender that has feasted on left-handed pitching over the past two seasons.
- Sherman reports (on Twitter) that the Rockies and Wilton Lopez have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.2MM. That number matches Swartz's projection on the dot. Lopez's 4.06 ERA was a disappointment for the Rockies last season, but his 75 1/3 innings were tied for 15th-most among relievers, and his 75 appearances tied for fifth-most in the Majors. ERA estimators like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all think his should've been roughly a half-run lower than it was, pegging him in the 3.57 to 3.69 range.
- Sherman also reports that the Mets and Ike Davis have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.5MM contract (on Twitter). Davis' name has been run through the rumor mill all offseason, but the latest reports seem to indicate that New York is no longer heavily shopping him and is instead prepared to take both him and Lucas Duda to Spring Training. Davis hit just .205/.326/.334 in 2013, though that includes a brutal first half. Following the All-Star break, Davis slashed an impressive .286/.449/.505. Swartz's projection for Davis was dead on, as he had him at exactly $3.5MM.
- The Athletics have reached agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with catcher John Jaso, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter. Jaso, 30, had an injury-shortened campaign last year with Oakland, but slashed .271/.387/.372 in his 249 plate appearances. In his best season as a pro, 2012, Jaso put up a .276/.394/.456 triple-slash in 361 trips to the dish. With his concussion issues at the end of last season, Jaso is expected to see time at DH in 2014. Swartz projected Jaso to earn $2.2MM, and he will in fact make $2.3MM, according to a report from the New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter). The deal also includes $25K incentives for starting 90 games behind the plate and reaching 450 plate appearances, Sherman notes.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
good, we signed our starting dh lol
Is this guy worth 2.2 million
As long as he gets on base as much as he did the past couple of seasons, then he’s worth that amount. Against rhp, he’s easily among the top ten in OBP around the league, which is pretty valuable on a team with many home run hitters.
Yep. Don’t be fooled by the lack of power, the guy’s incredibly legit against RHPs
Meh. Jaso is just another walk-trawler with zero power. His true value to the A’s is versatility. Jaso can catch, play 1B ad be the occasional DH. That’s value. His OPS and slugging percentage are below average, but he’ll get the timely hit and clog the bases with the walks.
Daric Barton is a very similar player, who has made a AAAA career out of taking close pitches. With true power hitters/producers like Donaldson, Moss, Cespedes, Reddick and Lowrie on board, Jaso is a nice complimentary piece.
Random question but what does the 2nd ‘M’ in 2.3MM stand for?
Million is derived from a Latin word (forgot the actual word) that means thousand. So therefor the abbreviation MM is used as it signifies thousands of thousands (1000×1000) which equals a million. Hope that explains it 😛
Cool thanks! Hey, arbitration and minor league signings are slightly more exciting than a root canal, let’s have some major free agent signings up in here!
I’m afraid it will be around another week as Tanaka has to sign by next Friday (I believe) and than the Garza/Santana/Jimenez trio can finally all land a deal (hopefully one of them with my M’s. That is unless ownership ponies up and signs Tanaka!)
Down vote…nice.
I’m just going to assume that your username is in reference to your post and not baseball. You just really like ‘M’s and explaining their meaning.
….and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling posters.
Matt Swartz is the Nate Silver of baseball arbitration.
Did the projection system correctly predict, or will teams now just try to use a system to figure out the point, and they will just agree there.
Cervelli is signed, we are officially world series bound.
Travis Snider is really not good. Too bad really. I used to like him a lot.
I feel like he needs a lot of reps in Spring Training to get rolling; that swing is awkward but that right-center gap power is nice. Gotta like the guy’s effort in RF. Can he play any 1B? Where’s Brandon Moss now?
I was initially disappointed that Travis Snider was traded to the Pirates. I thought he really had superstar potential. Would love to see the damage he would do if he put it all together!