Nats tender contracts to 5, but not Stammen
Moore, Lobaton avoid arbitration by agreeing to one-year deals
WASHINGTON -- First baseman Tyler Moore and catcher Jose Lobaton avoided arbitration on Wednesday by agreeing to one-year deals, while Craig Stammen was non-tendered and becomes a free agent. Five other players eligible for arbitration -- Drew Storen, Stephen Strasburg, Wilson Ramos, Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon -- were tendered contracts. The Nationals had until 11:59 p.m. ET to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players.
Moore will make $900,000, a source told MLB.com, and Lobaton will make $1.3875 million, according to the Washington Post. The club did not confirm the dollar figures.
Moore, who was eligible for arbitration for the first time, drove in 27 runs last season as a backup while making $518,000. His playing time in 2016 could be limited, as the job of backup first baseman belongs to Clint Robinson. With Moore signed, the Nationals could seek to trade him before Spring Training.
Lobaton struggled in 2015 defensively but had a good rapport with the pitching staff.
Stammen, who had been in the organization since 2005, missed most of 2015 because of a forearm injury, and the Nats struggled to replace him in the middle innings. He is expected to be fully healthy for Spring Training and may have taken a pay cut -- he made more than $2 million last season -- but the two sides couldn't come up with a deal that could satisfy both.
Rendon played in only 80 games in 2015 because of a sprained knee and sprained quad. He spent most of his time at second base but is expected to play third next season.
Strasburg was hurt for most of the first half of last season but returned to form after coming back from his oblique injury. It will be interesting to see if the Nationals sign him to a long-term deal; he is a free agent after the 2016 season.
Espinosa had a productive season coming off the bench and was a solid defender, playing all four infield positions and left field. He could start at second base again next year.
Storen was arguably having his best season of his career until late July and had a 6.75 ERA the rest of the way. He is expected to be traded before Spring Training.
Ramos, who stayed healthy for the first time since 2011, has caught three no-hitters during his career, two by Max Scherzer, one by Jordan Zimmermann.