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Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo and Co. in the Nats’ front office locked up backup catcher Jose Lobaton last night, avoiding arbitration with the veteran catcher.
Lobaton reportedly got $1.575M for 2017 after he played for $1,387,500 in 2016.
In his third season in D.C., the 32-year-old catcher put up a .232/.319/.374 line with three doubles and three home runs backing up everyday catcher Wilson Ramos.
Lobaton was one of six arbitration-eligible Nationals this winter, along with Ben Revere, Danny Espinosa, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Tanner Roark.
The Nationals announced this afternoon that they did not tender a contract to Revere, but Espinosa, Harper, Rendon and Roark have all been tendered contracts.
Earlier today there were several reports that suggested the Nationals might non-tender Revere after a disappointing season which saw the 28-year-old outfielder post a .217/.260/.300 line in 103 games and 375 plate appearances, finishing at -1.2 fWAR, down from a .306/.342/.377 line in a 1.7 fWAR campaign in Philadelphia and Toronto in 2015.
expectation is ben revere will be non-tendered by nats off his rough year. good bounce-back candidate elsewhere.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 2, 2016
Have also heard Nats likely to non-tender Ben Revere. No confirmation yet, but makes sense they would want to re-allocate 6M he'd get in arb
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) December 2, 2016
Revere avoided arbitration with the Nationals after they acquired him from the Blue Jays last winter, signing a 1-year/$6.25M deal for 2016, and he was projected to get $6.3M in 2017 according to MLBTraderumors.com’s projections.
Revere is now a free agent.
Espinosa, 29, is coming off a .209/.306/.378, 15 double, 24 HR, 1.7 fWAR campaign and is projected by MLBTR to get a raise to around $5.3M in 2017.
He signed a 1-year/$2.875M contract for 2016 last winter.
Harper had a down year in 2016, putting up a .243/.373/.441 line with 24 doubles and 24 HRs in a 3.5 fWAR campaign, after winning the NL MVP in 2015 in a .330/.460/.649, 38 double, 42 HR, 9.5 fWAR season in D.C.
Pirates reportedly “targeting” Nats’ prospect Victor Robles in trade talks
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LINK: FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal and others on the talks between the Pirates and Nationals.
Harper earned $5M in 2016 in the second year of the 2-year/$7.5M extension he signed with the Nationals in 2014.
MLBTR is projecting a raise to around $9.3M for Washington’s 24-year-old, 2010 No. 1 overall pick.
Rendon, 26, who put up a .270/.348/.450 line with 38 doubles and 20 HRs in a 4.7 fWAR season in 2016 is projected to get a raise to $6.4M in 2017 after he avoided arbitration and signed a 1-year/$2.8M deal with the Nationals last winter.
Roark, 30, signed a 1-year/$543,400 deal with the Nationals last winter. He’s projected to get a raise to around $6.1M after going (16-10) in his return to the rotation in 2016, posting a 2.83 ERA, a 3.79 FIP, 3.13 BB/9 and 7.37 K/9 over 210 IP in a 3.2 fWAR season in the Nats’ rotation.