The Oakland A's avoided arbitration with first baseman Yonder Alonso when they agreed to terms with him on a one-year contract for the 2017 season, the club announced today. The A's also announced that they have tendered contracts to all remaining players on their roster. In addition, infielder Rangel Ravelo was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville and will be a non-roster invitee with the A's this spring.
Alonso batted .253 with 34 doubles, seven home runs and 56 RBI in 156 games in his first season with Oakland last year. He ranked second among American League first baseman with a .9967 fielding percentage, which was the second best mark by a first baseman in Oakland history to Mark McGwire's .9969 in 1991. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter batted .302 with six of his seven home runs with runners on base and went 7-for-11 (.636) with 13 RBI with the bases loaded. Alonso made 118 of his 133 starts against right-handed pitchers and batted .257 against righties compared to .227 against lefties.
Ravelo was designated for assignment Wednesday when the A's signed Matt Joyce. He spent the entire 2016 season at Triple-A Nashville, where he batted .262 with eight home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games.
The A's have four remaining arbitration eligible players on their roster: Khris Davis, Sonny Gray, Liam Hendriks and Stephen Vogt.