Asked directly if he thought he would be going to arbitration with the Washington Nationals last month at NatsFest, 28-year-old, arbitration-eligible reliever Tyler Clippard told reporters he saw no value in discussing such things in the media.
"Those discussions are all up to me, the Nationals, my agent and everything like that," Clippard said. "Talking about it in the media does me no good."
"It's part of the business," he said though, adding that he was fine with the process. "I think kind of getting to this point in my career is something I always wanted to do. So from that aspect it's enjoyable. But the business side of things... I like being a baseball player. I don't like being an agent or anything like that."
Clippard signed a 1-year/$4M deal with the Nationals last winter, avoiding arbitration. In his seventh MLB season in 2013, the right-hander put up a 2.41 ERA, a 3.82 FIP, 24 walks (3.04 BB/9) and 73 Ks (9.25 K/9) in 72 games and 71 IP out of the Nats' bullpen. Clippard and the Nationals exchanged arbitration figures last month with the pitcher asking for $6.35M and the Nationals offering $4.45M. According to a report by CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman this morning, the Nats and their reliever have avoided arbitration by agreeing on a 1-year/$5.875M deal for 2014:
tyler clippard and nats settle at $5.875M, north of $5.4M midpoint
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 10, 2014
The Nationals have since confirmed the deal though not the contract details:
The #Nats have agreed to terms with RHP Tyler Clippard, avoiding arbitration.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 10, 2014