Phillies Avoid Arbitration With Pitchers
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies came to contract agreements for the 2016 season with a pair of pitchers, avoiding the arbitration process entirely this off-season.
Following the reported one-year agreement last week with shortstop Freddy Galvis, the team has now announced contracts with starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and reliever Jeanmar Gomez.
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Hellickson was obtained by the Phils on November 14th in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Sam McWilliams. The 2011 AL Rookie of the Year made $4.275 million last year. His new deal is reportedly for $7 million for 2016, when he is expected to be a regular in the Phillies starting rotation.
Gomez was signed by the club as a free agent last January after beginning his big league career with five seasons split between the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates. He proved a valuable addition, filling a variety of roles out of the bullpen for the Phillies in 2015. Gomez made $800,000 last year, and reports have his new deal at $1.4 million for the 2016 season, when he is again expected to be a key member of the bullpen.
The Phillies current payroll now sits at $87.5 million. More than half of that figure, $46 million to be exact, is going to veterans Ryan Howard ($25 mill) and Carlos Ruiz ($8.5 mill) in the final year of their deals, as well as the $12.5 million buyout to Cliff Lee.