Betts, deGrom get big raises
AL MVP Mookie Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract, a raise of $9.5 million that was for a few hours the highest for an arbitration-eligible player.
Betts was surpassed later Friday by New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who got a raise from $7.4 million to $17 million.
The Red Sox reached deals with all nine players eligible for arbitration ahead of Friday’s scheduled swap of salary figures. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts got a $12 million contract and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. got $8.55 million.
After beating the Red Sox in arbitration last offseason, the 26-year-old Betts led the major leagues in batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.640) and was second in on-base average (.438). He also had 84 extra-base hits, including 32 home runs, and stole 30 bases. He also won his third straight Gold Glove.
Betts can also make more in award bonuses. He is eligible for free agency after the 2020 World Series.
All-purpose player Brock Holt ($3,575,000), pitchers Matt Barnes ($1.6 million), Eduardo Rodriguez ($4.3 million) and Brandon Workman ($1,150,000) and catchers Sandy Leon ($2,475,000) and Blake Swihart ($910,000) also reached agreements. Pitcher Steven Wright got a deal for $1,375,000 on Thursday night.
YANKEES SIGN LEMAHIEU
The Yankees signed three-time Gold Glove second baseman D.J. LeMahieu to a two-year contract on Friday, a source confirmed, potentially complicating whatever pursuit they had for one of this offseason’s more coveted free agents, Manny Machado.
The move is pending a physical and reportedly worth $24 million. LeMahieu,who has played all four infield positions in his career - though only four games at shortstop - could easily serve as a utility infielder for the Yankees. The Yankee have both Gleyber Torres and newly signed Troy Tulowitzki who can play shortstop. Didi Gregorius, who had been the starting shortstop, had Tommy John surgery in October and it’s unclear when he will be ready to play.
Meanwhile, Machado is a Gold Glove third baseman who has expressed a preference for returning to his natural position at shortstop, where he played most of last season with the Orioles and Dodgers. All of this would lend itself to something of a crowded infield if the Yankees were indeed to sign Machado. Between Tulowitzki, Torres and third baseman Miguel Andujar, the glut on the left side points to the distinct chance that Machado will land with one of the other teams he has visited in free agency, the Phillies and White Sox. Machado is reportedly seeking a deal near $300 million, and though general manager Brian Cashman had dinner with Machado and his agent, Dan Lozano, last month, it’s unclear how far negotiations went and if Yankees made an offer.
As for LeMahieu, the two-time All-Star hit .276 with a career-high 15 home runs and 62 RBIs while also benefitting from the friendly confines of Coors Field, where he spent all eight years of his major league career with the Rockies. The righty also hit .348 in 2016, earning him the National League batting title, and is a career .298 hitter. According to FanGraphs, LeMahieu was sixth in baseball last year in defensive runs saved (18) and tops in that category among second basemen, and seventh in overall defensive value.
LeMahieu provides a strong defensive option at third base, should the Yankees need something more secure than Andujar, whose defense was sometimes a liability last season, leading to manager Aaron Boone subbing him out in precarious situations. It also provides insurance for Tulowitzki, who’s missed the better portion of the last two seasons to injury and heel surgery, and hasn’t played since 2017. Should Tulowitzki re-injure himself or not be able to perform at the level the Yankees hope, Torres could move to shortstop, his natural position, and LeMahieu could slot in at second, the position that earned him his Gold Gloves.
BRITTON PREFERS YANKS SETUP ROLE
Zach Britton preferred to be a setup man for Aroldis Chapman on the New York Yankees rather than close for a team less likely to win.
“I had been closer and I knew that I could do that at a high level. I felt like it wasn’t something I needed to prove myself,” Britton said Friday after finalizing a contract that guarantees him $39 million over three seasons and could be worth $53 million for four years.
Britton said he had offers from clubs that wanted him as a closer. A two-time All-Star, he led the AL with 47 saves in 2016.
“I wanted to go back to a team that was going to win year in, year out,” the 31year-old left-hander said. “And if the opportunity wasn’t there for me to close, that was kind of OK. There was only a handful of teams I was willing to do that (for).”
Britton began the season on the disabled list after tearing his right Achilles tendon in December 2017. He made his season debut on June 12 last year and was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA and four saves in 16 games with the Orioles, then was acquired by the Yankees on July 24. He had a 2.88 ERA and three saves in 25 appearances for New York.
He receives $13 million in each of the next two seasons. New York has a $13 million option for 2021 and a $14 million option for 2022 and must decide within three days of the 2020 World series whether to exercise both. If the team option is declined, Britton has until the fifth day after the 2020 World Series to exercise a $13 million player option for 2021.
“I wanted to get stronger again, get further away from surgery, put together a good year or two and then have the option to explore free agency again,” Britton said. “It was a grind last year. I just at times I felt like my lower body was detached from my upper body.”
RECORD RAISE FOR DEGROM
NL Cy Young Award winner deGrom and the Mets agreed to a $17 million, one-year contract, a record raise for an arbitration-eligible player from his $7.4 million salary.
The deal was agreed to before the pitcher and team were to exchange proposed salaries in arbitration. It also set a mark for a pitcher eligible for arbitration for the third time.
Fellow Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard agreed to a $6 million deal, doubling his salary.
DeGrom led the majors with a 1.70 ERA in 217 innings and was selected to his second All-Star Game. He was fifth in MVP voting after receiving little run support on a fourth-place squad.
The right-hander went 10-9 with 269 strikeouts in 32 remarkably consistent starts for a team that finished 77-85. The 30-year-old can become a free agent after the 2020 season if the Mets don’t sign their electric ace to a multiyear contract by then.
New York sounds open to a long-term deal under new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who was deGrom’s agent before switching sides and taking the front-office job. Talks could take place soon, though Van Wagenen has said he’ll recuse himself from negotiations involving deGrom to avoid a conflict of interest.
Syndergaard went 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 25 starts last season but had some trouble staying healthy again. The right-hander logged only 301⁄ innings in 3 2017 because of a torn lat muscle. Last year he missed time with a finger injury and an illness, finishing with 155 strikeouts and 39 walks in 1541⁄ innings. 3