The Orioles agreed to one-year contracts for 2016 with star third baseman Manny Machado, top starter Chris Tillman, and infielder Ryan Flaherty ahead of Friday’s exchange of salary arbitration figures, according to industry sources.
Machado, who earned just $485,000 in 2015, when he made his second All-Star appearance and hit .286/.359/.502 with a career-high 35 home runs, agreed to a one-year deal with $5 million with performance incentives, according to a source.
His large raise allows him to avoid salary arbitration by an outside panel, but according to a source, the discussions on locking Machado up for 2016 did not extend toward a long-term contract.