Dodgers Reportedly Avoid Arbitration with Scott Van Slyke

Expect a lot of these posts in the next day or two, as the Dodgers agreed with OF Scott Van Slyke on a one-year deal.

According to Jon Heyman, the Dodgers and Scott Van Slyke agreed to a one-year, $1.225 million contract and avoided arbitration.

Van Slyke, like Chris Hatcher, qualified for “Super Two” status by being in the top-22 percent of service time among players with between two and three years of service time. This gave Van Slyke an extra year of arbitration.

Last year, Van Slyke received $522,500 according to Baseball Reference, so this represents a pretty solid pay raise. He struggled last year, posting a triple slash of just .239/.317/.383, all of which are his lowest since his brief 2012 season. He was banged up a bit, as he hit the DL in early June with a back injury and had a cyst on his hand in September.

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Van Slyke’s role on the team is basically Andre Ethier‘s platoon partner, but last year Van Slyke had more plate appearances against righties than against lefties. Against lefties, he triple slashed .258/.386/.398, which aside from the low slugging percentage is a bit more indicative of Van Slyke’s career numbers (.265/.370/.488) against lefties.

While he struggled offensively, Van Slyke is quietly a very valuable asset. He’ll be 30 in July and has played all three outfield positions and first base. Along with being a platoon outfielder, he could also give the aging Adrian Gonzalez some days off at first base. Defensively, Van Slyke is surprisingly good and led the Dodgers in outfield assists last year, with eight.

Justin Turner, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Avilan and Kenley Jansen have yet to agree on a contract. They have until Friday to exchange salaries with the Dodgers and hopefully come to an agreement without having to head to an arbitration hearing.

Next: Dodgers Avoid Arbitration with Chris Hatcher

Yesterday’s arbitration post ended with Jordan Schafer news, so today’s will too. According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the left handed outfielder will also be a lefty reliever, and they will emphasize pitching with him. He pitched in high school, but hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors.