The number of unsettled arbitration cases is rapidly winding down, but there are still a handful to be resolved. We’ll keep track of today’s minor settlements here, with all projections coming via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…
- The Diamondbacks and closer Addison Reed have avoided arbitration by settling on a $4.875MM salary for the 2015 season, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Reed, who can also earn up to $50K worth of incentives, did well to top his $3.8MM projection by a fairly wide margin. The 26-year-old saved 32 games in his first season with Arizona, but he also posted a 4.25 ERA in 59 1/3 innings of work. Reed’s strikeout rate (10.5 K/9) and walk rate (2.3 BB/9) are better than one would expect based on that ERA, but his extreme fly-ball tendencies did not play well at Chase Field. Reed’s 47.6 percent fly-ball rate was the 13th-highest in baseball among all relievers, and his 28.9 percent ground-ball rate was the third-lowest. His 13.9 percent homer-to-flyball ratio, while higher than average, wouldn’t necessarily be disastrous for all pitchers, but given the sheer volume of fly-balls surrendered by Reed, his ERA was significantly inflated. As MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows, Reed had filed at $5.6MM against the team’s $4.7MM, so his ultimate salary was significantly closer to the club’s number than that of his camp.
