The flood gates have opened. The Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays have all agreed with a number of players to avoid arbitration.
Let's start in Washington, where the Nationals agreed to deals with three of their key players: starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, catcher Wilson Ramos and reliever Craig Stammen. Strasburg (2nd year of arbitration eligibility) agreed to a one-year, $7.4 million deal, according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post; Ramos (2nd year) will earn $3.55 million on a one-year contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports; and Stammen (2nd year) settled for $2.25 million for his one-year deal, also according to Heyman.
Here were their numbers from 2014:
Strasburg: 14-11 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 242 strikeouts in 34 starts (215 innings)
Ramos: .267/.299/.399 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs in 88 games
Stammen: 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 56 strikeouts in 49 games (72 2/3 innings)
They also settled with second baseman Danny Espinosa (one-year, $1.8 million deal) and catcher Jose Lobaton (one-year, $1.2 million), according to the Washington Post.
As for teams in the American League, the Cleveland Indians settled contract issues with their third baseman and one of their starting pitchers. Lonnie Chisenhall agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the team, according to Heyman. The 26-year-old third baseman had his best year since entering the league in 2011 after slashing .280/.343/.427 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs in 142 games. This was his first year of arbitration eligibility.
In the starting rotation, Cleveland settled with Carlos Carrasco during his first year of arbitration eligibility when the two agreed to a one-year, $2.33 million deal, according to Heyman. The right-hander began the season as a starter, was moved to the bullpen in May, and then returned to the rotation in August and finished the year there. He posted an 8-7 record with a 2.55 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 140 strikeouts in 40 games (14 starts). His 134 innings pitched was the most of his career.
After one of the most active offseasons this year, the Tampa Bay Rays reached an agreement with one of their key outfielders. Desmond Jennings agreed to a one-year, $3.1 million deal on Friday, according to Heyman. They still have a few more to settle, but Jennings was perhaps the most important for the sake of keeping continuity in the outfield. The 28-year-old slashed .244/.319/.378 with 10 home runs, 36 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 2014. He was in his first year of arbitration eligibility.
He'll likely start in center as the team will have a lot to work with in the corner spots since they Steven Souza Jr., Kevin Kiermaier, David DeJesus and Brandon Guyer as options.
UPDATE: The Rays have also settled with reliever Kevin Jepsen and agreed to a one-year, $3.025 million deal, Heyman reports. The Nationals agreed to a one-year, $11.4 million deal with starting pitcher Doug Fister, Heyman adds.
UPDATE: The Indians will pay first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss $6.5 million in 2015, accoring to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
UPDATE: According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays have agreed with starters Alex Cobb ($4 million) and Drew Smyly ($2.65 million), closer Jake McGee ($3.55 million), catchers John Jaso ($3.175 million) and Rene Rivera ($1.2 million), and infielder Logan Forsythe ($1.1 million) for the 2015 season.
