Hot Stove Digest: Bryce Harper, Manny Machado among stars avoiding arbitration
Welcome to The Stew’s Hot Stove Digest, our daily rundown of MLB news, rumors and gossip for Hot Stove season. Here you’ll find a quick recap of all the day’s action and other fun stuff from around the internet that we think is worth your time.
MAKE A DEAL: Friday was a busy day for bookkeeping around Major League Baseball as the deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration came and went. As a result, several notable players reached salary agreements for 2017 to avoid a future arbitration hearing. We’ll run through a few of the more significant agreements, beginning here with Bryce Harper
The Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $13.625M deal with their star outfielder to cover his second year of arbitration. Harper earned $5M last season and was expected to double that number this winter, barring a long-term extension. He ended up nearly tripling it without forcing a hearing. [@JonHeyman]
ORIOLES BIG THREE: The Baltimore Orioles avoided arbitration with three key players. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports that Manny Machado landed a one-year, $11.5M deal. Ace starter Chris Tillman agreed to a one-year, $10.05M deal, according to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Last but certainly not least, dominant closer Zach Britton settled at $11.4M after notching 47 saves with an absurd 0.54 ERA. [@bnicholsonsmith]
HOLY NOLY: The Rockies took care of two years of arbitration for superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado, agreeing to a two-year, $29.5M contract. Arenado will earn $11.75M in 2017 and $17.75M in 2018 before entering his final season of arbitration in 2019. [@jcrasnick]
THE REST: Here’s a complete list of arbitration agreements reached on Friday. It’s a lengthy list that includes Jake Arrieta, Todd Frazier, Eric Hosmer and many others. [MLB]
LOCK’EM UP: The Padres are reportedly nearing a six-year, $80M contract extension with Wil Myers. The team also announced a new two-year deal with Yangervis Solarte, which will include third and fourth year club options. [@Ken_Rosenthal]
HOW ABOUT A TRADE: The Atlanta Braves acquired second baseman Micah Johnson from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Johnson received limited playing time in 2016, but was not a real option for L.A. as a regular second baseman. He was designated for assignment earlier this week when the deals for Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen were made official. [@Braves]
WELCOME BACK: David Ross may have retired from playing, but he’s not leaving the Cubs. The team announced Friday that Ross will serve as a special assistant to baseball operations. [Big League Stew]
DONE DEAL: Veteran catcher Chris Iannetta had a one-year, $1.5M deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’ll compete for playing time with Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann [@nickpiecoro]
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
