7:41pm: Righty T.J. McFarland has also agreed to terms, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. He’ll earn $685K in 2017, just shy of his $700K projection.
6:35pm: The Orioles have avoided arbitration with infielder Ryan Flaherty, according to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (via Twitter). He’ll earn $1.8MM and become the first arb-eligible Oriole to settle this year.
Flaherty will take home just a shade more than the $1.7MM that MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz projected. The 30-year-old made just 176 MLB plate appearances in 2016 and managed only three home runs, limiting his earning power in his final run through arbitration.
Of course, Baltimore values Flaherty primarily as a versatile bench piece. He’s capable of playing all over the infield, including shortstop when necessary. And though he has never produced much at the plate, Flaherty has typically rated well as a baserunner.
I always loved flaherty. If there was ever a best bench player award he would make a good run at it. He’s one of those players where if just 1 or 2 things clicked he would be a good everyday player.
Flaherty is not a good bench player. He’s versatile, and that’s all he brings.
That alone makes him a good bench player. As a Red Sox fan I know what I am talking about because we got Holt who really brought back the value of having a super utility guy.