Donaldson, Bryant set records with 1-year deals

Red Sox re-sign nine, while Yankees return six; Mets bring back Harvey

Third basemen Josh Donaldson and Kris Bryant set records Friday when they were among 145 players who agreed to one-year contracts rather than swap proposed salaries in arbitration with their teams.

Donaldson and Toronto agreed at $23 million, the largest one-year deal for an arbitration-eligible player. The 32-yearold, a three-time All-Star, topped the $21,625,000, one-year deal covering 2018 agreed to last May by outfielder Bryce Harper and Washington.

Bryant settled with the Chicago Cubs at $10.85 million, the most for a player eligible for arbitration for the first time. The previous mark was held by Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard, who was awarded $10 million by a three-person panel in 2008.

Mets

The Mets reached one-year deals with starters Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey and settled with five other players.

Relievers Jeurys Familia, A.J. Ramos and Hansel Robles, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and infielder Wilmer Flores also agreed to one-year contracts and avoided arbitration.

Diminished following a string of injuries, Harvey ($5,625,000) is coming off a miserable 2017 season, when he went 5-7 with a 6.70 ERA in 92 2/3 innings. The former ace gave up 21 home runs and struck out only 67 against 47 walks while earning $5,040,984. He missed 2½ months with a right shoulder injury and was mostly terrible after returning in September.

It was his second consecutive rough season following a successful comeback in 2015 from Tommy John surgery. Harvey’s 2016 campaign was cut short when he had a rib removed during surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a compression of nerves in the area between the neck and armpit. He and the Mets hoped that procedure would help him regain his All-Star form, but Harvey regressed even more last year.

Harvey, who turns 29 in March, can become a free agent after the season, so this might be the final Mets go-round for a polarizing starting pitcher who once appeared destined for greatness.

Red Sox

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. were among nine Boston players who reached deals on one-year contracts.

Pitchers Joe Kelly, Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Workman, infielder Brock Holt and catchers Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez also settled.

The agreements left two-time AllStar outfielder Mookie Betts as the only Boston player in salary arbitration.

Yankees

The Yankees reached one-year contracts with their remaining six players eligible for arbitration, leaving their projected luxury tax payroll at $177 million — $20 million below the threshold.

Shortstop Didi Gregorius agreed at $8.25 million, pitcher Sonny Gray at $6.5 million and setup man Dellin Betances at $5.1 million. Also reaching deals were relievers Adam Warren ($3,315,000) and Chasen Shreve ($825,000), and backup catcher Austin Romine ($1.1 million).