Howell elects to stay with Dodgers in '16
Left-handed reliever exercises contract option for $6.25M
LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers lefty J.P. Howell will exercise his player option for 2016 and remain with the club, the reliever confirmed Wednesday night.
Howell's option for $6.25 million became a player option when he reached 120 appearances combined over the past two seasons. He earned $4 million each of those two seasons.
Howell, 32, went 6-1 with a 1.43 ERA in 2015, which might have been enough to leverage a multiyear deal. He again will be the primary left-handed reliever for the Dodgers, reducing management's offseason shopping list.
He originally signed with the Dodgers in 2013, coming over as a free agent from Tampa Bay, where he played for current Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
The Dodgers still need to decide whether or not to pick up club options on Bronson Arroyo, Chase Utley and former Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta, with only the latter likely ($2.5 million). Arroyo, who didn't pitch in 2015 after Tommy John surgery, has an $11 million option with a $4.5 million buyout that's the responsibility of the Atlanta Braves. Utley has a $15 million option.