The Orioles have avoided arbitration with right-hander Chris Tillman by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $6.225MM, tweets Jon Heyman. Tillman is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council. Additionally, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun hears that Manny Machado has avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5MM, plus incentives (Twitter link). And, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets that Ryan Flaherty has agreed to a $1.5MM salary with the O’s. The Tillman and Flaherty figures are in line with the projections of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, who pegged them at respective salaries of $6.2MM and $1.5MM. Machado comes up shy of his $5.9MM projection but still earns a huge raise over last year’s $548K salary.
Tillman, 27, took a step back in 2015, posting a 4.99 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 173 innings after having worked to a 3.52 ERA in the two seasons prior. He’ll hope for a rebound year as he sits two years away from free agency.
Machado, 23, broke out with an MVP-caliber season in 2015, hitting .286/.359/.502 with 35 home runs in 713 plate appearances to go along with elite defense at third base. Machado is controllable through the 2018 season and should prove to be among the elite ranks of third basemen throughout the league in the years to come.
Flaherty, 29, batted just .201/.281/.356 last season but will reprise his role as a utility bat with some pop. Though he’s a career .215 hitter, Flaherty does have 32 homers and a .150 ISO throughout his MLB career.
Why did Tillman get more than machado
Because this was Tillman’s second trip through the arb process. This was Machado’s first trip so that is to be expected.
Why the Orioles continue to pay Flaherty is beyond me. There has to be a minor leaguer that could function as a utility man and hit just as well, if not better than Flaherty. Plus, said minor leaguer would only cost the Orioles $500 K, while Flaherty will cost $1.5 million.
Versatility and defense, that’s enough for the utility role. If he could hit he wouldn’t be a utility player.
Flaherty is trash. Most frustrating Oriole I’ve had to watch since Brandon Fahey and Luis Hernandez. FML.
Yes, they were both pretty bad.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Manny. Hopefully this arbitration agreement is just a placeholder for banging out a longer term contract.
After what they just gave Davis, you have to wonder what they’ll be willing to offer Machado in 3 years as a FA