MLB Player News

Velasquez agreed to a one-year, $2.249 million deal with the Phillies, avoiding arbitration, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

This is Velasquez's first foray into the arbitration process. The 26-year-old righty seemed to be pretty unlucky last year, logging a 4.85 ERA with a 3.75 FIP. He is under club control for three more seasons before becoming a free agent after the 2021 season.

Matz and the Mets agreed to a one-year, $2.625 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Matz will more than quadruple his salary after earning just $577,000 last season. The raise comes after a season in which the lefty made a career-high 30 starts, finishing with a 3.97 ERA.

Wheeler and the Mets avoided arbitration with a one-year, $5.975 contract Friday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Wheeler will earn a raise of over $4 million after making $1.9 million last season. The new salary is well-deserved after the 28-year-old recorded a career-best 3.31 ERA in 29 starts in his first full season back from a lengthy injury absence.

Gausman and the Braves agreed to a one-year, $9.35 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Gausman recorded a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts for the Braves after a midseason trade from Baltimore. He'll have a firm hold on a rotation spot heading into the season despite a wealth of interesting young arms in Atlanta, and should be a strong mid-rotation presence.

Davies agreed to an unspecified one-year deal with the Brewers, avoiding arbitration.

He will have his work cut out for him to hold onto a rotation spot for the entire 2019 season, particularly if he does not improve upon last season's numbers (4.77 ERA, 49 strikeouts in 66 innings). That said, he notched sub-4.00 ERAs over full seasons in 2016 and 2017, so perhaps he can return to his old form in his age-26 campaign.

DeGrom and the Mets agreed to a one-year, $17 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

The deal represents a record raise for an arbitration-eligible player after deGrom earned just $7.4 million last season, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, beating the record set by Mookie Betts just hours earlier. It's hard to argue the deal is anything less than what deGrom deserves after winning the NL Cy Young by posting a 1.70 ERA, striking out 32.2 percent of batters while walking just 5.5 percent.

DeSclafani signed a one-year, $2.125 million deal with the Reds on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

DeSclafani received a raise of over $1.25 million despite posting a 4.93 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 108:30 K:BB in 21 starts last season. The 28-year-old is likely to begin 2019 in the Reds starting rotation and will look to stay healthy after battling elbow and oblique injuries the last two seasons.

Anderson agreed to a one-year, $2.625 million deal with the Rockies, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.

This is Anderson's first year of arbitration, so he will be enjoying the first seven-figure salary of his career. He is a lock to be a member of Colorado's rotation in 2019, but does not have the same fantasy upside as the top three members of the rotation.

Walker (elbow) agreed to a one-year, $5.025 million deal with the Diamondbacks, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.

Walker, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April, began a throwing program toward the end of the season, but is not expected to return to game action until around the All-Star break. Arizona is not competing this season, so it will treat him with kid gloves. Walker was a Super 2 prospect, so he is due for a fourth season of arbitration in 2020 before hitting the open market in 2021.

Wacha agreed to a one-year, $6.35 million deal with the Cardinals, avoiding arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

It seems like Wacha will open the year as the Cardinals' fifth starter, but he has averaged just 129.1 innings over the past three seasons, so don't bank on a 30-start season from the 27-year-old righty. This is Wacha's final arbitration year, so he may be joining a new organization next offseason.