Angels avoid arbitration by signing Freese, Jepsen

The Angels avoided arbitration with new third baseman David Freese and returning reliever Kevin Jepsen on Friday, signing Freese for $5.05 million and Jepsen for $1.46 million.

Both players settled at the midpoints of salary figures they exchanged with the team in mid-January. Freese, acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Peter Bourjos trade, was expected to go to a hearing because the sides were $1.9 million apart, a considerable gap.

Freese, the 2011 National League Championship Series and World Series most valuable player for the Cardinals, hit .262 with a .340 onbase percentage, .381 slugging percentage, nine home runs and 60 runs batted in last season.

Jepsen had a record of 1-3 with a 4.50 earned-run average in 45 games and underwent a season-ending appendectomy in late August.

With the January signings of closer Ernesto Frieri ($3.8 million) and reliever Fernando Salas ($870,000), the Angels have come to terms with all four of their arbitra- tion-eligible players.

The Angels also agreed to terms on a minor league deal with catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a 13-year veteran who spent the 2013 season as a backup with the Colorado Rockies. The deal includes an invitation to spring training.

Torrealba, 35, has a career .256 average, .315 on-base percentage, .379 slugging percentage, 56 home runs and 339 RBIs, and he had a slash line of .240/.295/.283 with no homers and 16 RBIs in 61 games for the Rockies last season.