As first reported by MLB.com’s Jane Lee, the A’s have avoided arbitration with reliever Tyler Clippard by agreeing to a one-year, $8.3 million deal. This was the final unresolved arbitration case for Oakland.
Clippard posted a stellar 2.18 ERA, 0.995 WHIP, and 82/23 K/BB ratio in 70 1/3 innings last season for the Nationals. He was traded to the A’s in mid-January for infielder Yunel Escobar and could see some time at closer for Oakland in April while Sean Doolittle recovers from a slight tear in his left rotator cuff.
Clippard asked for a salary of $8.85 million and was offered $7.775 million from the A’s when arbitration figures were exchanged last month. The 29-year-old can become a free agent after the 2015 season.
