The Marlins have won an arbitration hearing against right-hander David Phelps, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). As MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows, Phelps had filed at $1.875MM, while the team countered with $1.4MM. Phelps will earn $1.4MM in 2014, which is still slightly higher than the $1.3MM projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Acquired alongside Martin Prado in the trade that sent Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Jones to the Yankees, Phelps soaked up 113 innings for an injury-riddled Yankees pitching staff in 2014. The 28-year-old totaled a 4.38 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate. Phelps appeared in 32 games — 17 of them starts — resulting in a career-high in terms of innings pitched. This was his first trip through the arbitration process and, as a Super Two player, he’ll be eligible three more times before hitting the open market upon completion of the 2018 season.
Phelps was the final of Miami’s seven arbitration cases to be resolved and the second to reach a hearing. The Marlins won their other hearing this winter — the case of fellow newcomer Mat Latos, who will now earn $9.4MM as opposed to $10.4MM.
