Kontos, Nunez sign 1-year deals with Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Infielder Eduardo Nunez reached a $4.2 million, one-year agreement with the San Francisco Giants on Friday to avoid arbitration.
Right-handed reliever George Kontos and left-hander Will Smith also received one-year contracts as the club announced all of its arbitration-eligible players had reached deals.
The Giants acquired All-Star infielder Nunez, the projected starting third baseman going into 2017, from Minnesota ahead of the trade deadline. But he was sidelined for the final six games of the regular season and was unable to start in the playoffs against the Cubs because of a strained right hamstring.
Unlikely playoff star Conor Gillaspie agreed to a new deal Wednesday night and could compete with Nunez for playing time.
The 29-year-old Nunez batted .288 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs between the Twins and Giants, hitting .269 with four homers, 20 RBIs, nine doubles and three triples in 50 games for San Francisco. He earned $1,475,000 last season.
Kontos, who earned $1.15 million last season, was part of a bullpen that struggled down the stretch and ultimately cost the Giants in their fourgame NL Division Series defeat to the eventual champion Cubs.
A’s sign Gray, Vogt
Right-hander Sonny Gray reached a $3,575,000, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics on Friday to avoid arbitration.
Also agreeing on new deals were catcher Stephen Vogt and right-hander Liam Hendriks, leaving left fielder Khris Davis as the only one yet to settle as he comes off a career year heading into the 2017 season.
Davis batted .247 for a second straight year with career-highs of 42 home runs and 102 RBIs in his first season with the low-budget A’s. He earned $524,500 in 2016 and should receive a hefty raise after his performance highlighted a losing year for lastplace Oakland.
Gray entered 2016 with huge expectations as ace of the A’s staff then was scratched from his start opening day with food poisoning. He first spent a stint on the disabled list with a strain in his upper back before missing time down the stretch on the DL again with a strained right forearm.
After getting hurt Aug. 6, the 27year-old Gray didn’t pitch again until one inning of relief Sept. 28 at the Angels — an important step according to the team for him to go into the offseason on a positive note.
Gray, a 2015 All-Star who made $527,500 last year, struggled to a 5-11
record after consecutive 14-win seasons and was limited to 22 starts and 117 innings.
Vogt batted .251 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs while playing in a career-high 137 games — one more than the previous season — in 2016.
He earned $527,500 last year and has been a key influence working with all of the young pitchers moving through the big leagues in recent years because of injuries.
Hendricks, who earned $523,400 in 2016, went 0-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 53 outings for Oakland.