Today is swap day for players who filed for salary arbitration last week, and the Dodgers have agreed to a one-year deal with Chad Billingsley worth $6.275 million, avoiding arbitration, per Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles has the salaries submitted by the Dodgers' other two arbitration-eligible players:
- James Loney filed at $5.25 million; the Dodgers filed at $4.7 million
- Hong-Chih Kuo filed at $3.075 million; the Dodgers filed at $2.55 million
Two weeks ago, I estimated a $6 million salary for Billingsley, a $4.3 million salary for Loney, and a $2.5 million salary for Kuo. I was close on Billingsley, but appear to be way off on the other two. Expect both to agree to deals before any arbitration hearing, which would be scheduled between February 1-18 if necessary.
The Dodgers have $83.45 million committed to 17 players in 2011 (not including Marcus Thames), plus another $16.3 million in deferred salaries to players no longer on the team. I anticipate the total 2011 payroll to open at just north of $111 million.