With the deadline for teams to reach agreements for arbitration-eligible players being Friday evening, the Mariners announced they had reached agreements with shortstop J.P. Crawford, catcher Tom Murphy and right-handed pitcher Rafael Montero — their only three arbitration-eligible players — on one-year contracts.
The organization doesn’t release contract details, but Jon Heyman of MLB Network report that Montero received a $2.25 million contract.
Per the news release, the Mariners have all 40 players on their 40-man roster signed to contracts or under team control.
Crawford, 25, won the first Gold Glove Award of his career at shortstop in 2020. He appeared in 53 games for the Mariners last year, posting a .255/.336/.338 slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with two homers, 24 RBI and six stolen bases. He finished the season ranked second among American League shortstops with six Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), trailing only Houston’s Carlos Correa (eight).
Murphy, 29, missed the entire season because of a left foot metatarsal fracture suffered during summer camp workouts. He was slated to be the starting catcher after a breakout 2019 in which he had a .273/.324/.535 slash line with 12 doubles, 18 homers and 40 RBI.
Montero, 30, was acquired from the Rangers this offseason. After starting the 2020 season on the injured list (right elbow tendinitis), he served as the Rangers closer. He went 8 for 8 in save opportunities, with an 0-1 record and a 4.08 ERA over 17 2/3 innings in 17 relief appearances.
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