Zach Eflin, Philadelphia Phillies avoid arbitration, reach $5.7M deal

ATLANTA -- Right-hander Zach Eflin and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed Tuesday to a $5.7 million, one-year contract.

Eflin gets a $5.55 million salary this year, and the deal includes a $15 million mutual option for 2023 with a $150,000 buyout. He can earn an additional $300,000 in performance bonuses this year for innings: $50,000 each for 100 and 125, $75,000 for 150 and $125,000 for 175.

Philadelphia and Eflin had been scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Wednesday. He had asked for a raise from $4.45 million to $6.9 million and had been offered $5.15 million.

Eflin was 4-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 18 starts last year, his season cut short by surgery in September for a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. He is 1-3 with a 3.65 ERA in seven starts this season and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.

No statistics or evidence from after March 1 are admissible other than contract and salary comparisons, timing set when Major League Baseball and the players' association agreed to the deal that ended the lockout.

Teams have a 3-2 lead in decisions: Seattle second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier ($8 million) and Kansas City outfielder Andrew Benintendi ($8.5 million) won, and Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley ($3.95 million), injured Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson ($3.6 million) and St. Louis outfielderTyler O'Neill($3.4 million) also lost.

A decision remains pending for Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser.

Arbitration hearings usually are held during the first three weeks of February, but they were delayed by the lockout.

Hearings are scheduled through June 24. Players scheduled for hearings include Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall, pitcher Max Fried and shortstopDansby Swanson, along with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt, Minnesota catcher Gary Sánchez and Miami catcher Jacob Stallings.