O's settle with Machado, Britton, four others

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles avoided arbitration hearings with six players on Friday, agreeing to one-year contracts with infielders Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Ryan Flaherty, and pitchers Zach Britton, T.J. McFarland and Chris Tillman.
In addition, they exchanged salary figures with Brad Brach, Caleb Joseph and Kevin Gausman. An independent arbitrator will look at each case this spring.
Baltimore settled with Machado for $11.5 million and with Britton for $11.4 million. Tillman got $10.5 million, and Schoop agreed to a contract for $3.475 million.
Britton had one of the best seasons by a reliever in 2016, going a perfect 47-for-47 in save opportunities with a 0.54 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 67 innings. Machado finished in the top five in the American League MVP vote and hit .294/.343/.533 with 37 home runs and 96 RBIs.
Tillman, the Orioles' Opening Day starter, went 16-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts last year. Schoop, 23, batted .267/.298/.454 in his third full big league season.
Flaherty, 30, was signed to a one-year deal for $1.8 million for 2017 after hitting .217/.291/.318 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 176 plate appearances last season. McFarland, who agreed to a one-year, $685,000 deal, struggled in 16 appearances out of the bullpen for Baltimore in 2016, with a 6.93 ERA, far above his career 4.27.
Brach submitted a salary of $3.05 million, and the O's countered at $2.525 million. Gausman submitted $3.55 million, and the O's offered $3.15 million. Baltimore submitted $700,000 for Joseph, who asked for $1 million.