Second baseman Jonathan Schoop and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to an $8.5 million, one-year contract.
The deal Tuesday was $250,000 above the midpoint between the $9 million Schoop asked for and the $7.5 million the Orioles offered when the sides exchanged proposed salaries last month. Schoop can earn additional award bonuses.
An arbitration hearing had been scheduled for Thursday in Phoenix.
The 26-year-old Curaçao native made $3.55 million last year, when he was a first-time All-Star and hit .293 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs. He played in 160 games last season after participating in all 162 in 2016.
Schoop has a .264 career batting average with 89 homers and 272 RBIs.
So the Curaçao native will receive a $5.025 million raise from 2017. He will be going into his second of three arbitration years, and is eligible to become a free agent after the 2019 season.
Schoop’s unresolved contract situation drew the spotlight last month when he missed the Orioles’ annual offseason FanFest event and manager Buck Showalter said the second baseman did not attend under the advisement of his agent, Steve Veltman.
Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette expressed their disappointment that Schoop didn’t attend the event. He has missed each of the past two FanFests, a last-minute absence from the 2017 event because of a death in his family.
Sources: The Baltimore Sun, ESPN and The Associated Press