BALTIMORE _ A slow-developing deadline day for the Orioles in negotiating with their seven arbitration-eligible players is proving to be productive.
Friday's 1 p.m. deadline to exchange salary figures with arbitration-eligible players came and went with the club far apart with several key players, including third baseman Manny Machado.
But as the afternoon progressed, the Orioles methodically began consummating one-year contracts with those players, inking deals with Machado, closer Zach Britton and set-up man Brad Brach, all of whom will be entering their final seasons under team control before reaching free agency at the end of the year.
The Orioles also came to terms with first-year arbitration eligible shortstop Tim Beckham and catcher Caleb Joseph, who is entering his second of four arbitration years as a Super Two qualifier.
Last year, the club imposed the increasingly common "file and trial" stance in negotiating with all arbitration-eligible players, meaning that it planned to take all unresolved cases to a hearing without further discussion. But this year, the club clearly engaged players well after the deadline in order to reach deals.
With trade rumors still swirling around him, Machado agreed to terms to a $16 million base-salary deal plus undisclosed award incentives for his final season of arbitration eligibility just hours after it appeared he was on course for an arbitration hearing. He received a $4.5 million raise from last season, when he earned $11.5 million.
Had it not been for the record $23 million deal that Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson received earlier in the day, Machado's deal would have marked the largest received by a position player through the arbitration process. The previous high was the $15.5 million deal signed by Prince Fielder before his final arbitration season with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011.
The Orioles' payout to Machado was just shy of the $17.3 million he was projected to make according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Machado didn't have his best season last year, especially in comparison to the numbers he had coming into his previous two arbitration-eligible seasons.
He struggled for most of the first half of the season, and his .259/.310/.471 slash line was well below his career average of .279/.329/.471, but Machado still hit 33 homers and drove in 95 runs for an Orioles team that finished last in the American League East.
In 2015 and '16, Machado averaged 36 homers, 91 RBIs and an .869 OPS.
The Orioles also came to an agreement with Britton, who is likely out until at least June while recovering from a ruptured right Achilles tendon he injured during an offseason workout last month, on a deal that will pay him $12 million this upcoming season. That total is a record for an arbitration-eligible reliever. As a Super Two qualifier, Britton had four arbitration seasons to increase his salary.
He will receive a modest $600,000 raise coming off last year's injury-plagued season, just shy of the $12.2 million he was projected to make. Even though he will miss much of the first half of the season, the Orioles were responsible for his salary once they tendered him a contract in December and can't part ways with him since he was injured while doing baseball activities.
Brach, who is the lead candidate to serve as the interim closer while Britton is out, agreed to terms on a $5.165 base salary for the upcoming season, according to an industry source. That is a $2.115 million raise from last year, when he held the closer duties while Britton was out with forearm and knee injuries. Brach's deal included an additional $100,000 in incentives.
Brach won his arbitration hearing with the Orioles last year, the first time the Orioles were beaten in arbitration in 22 years, earning a $3.05-million salary.
Beckham, the non-waiver trade deadline acquisition from the Tampa Bay Rays, will nearly quadruple his salary in his first full season with the Orioles, agreeing to terms on a $3.35 million deal in his first year of arbitration eligibility. He made just $885,000 last season.
And Joseph, who lost his arbitration case and made just $700,000 in 2017, doubled his salary, receiving a $1.4 million deal for this upcoming season,
The Orioles went into the late afternoon unresolved with two other arbitration-eligible players: second baseman Jonathan Schoop and right-hander Kevin Gausman.
