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The Dodgers avoided salary arbitration with the reigning World Series (and NLCS) MVP, signing shortstop Corey Seager to a one-year, $13.75 million deal, per multiple reports.
Corey Seager, Dodgers agree: $13.75M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 15, 2021
The Dodgers and Corey Seager have settled on a one-year, $13.75 million contract to avoid arbitration, per source. @JonHeyman was first with the news.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) January 15, 2021
They also agreed to terms with Julio Urías for $3.6 million.
Julio Urias, Dodgers agree: $3.6M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 15, 2021
$3.6 million for Urías. @JonHeyman 1st.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) January 15, 2021
With five years, 32 days of major league service time, Seager has one more year until free agency. This earns him a 77.6-percent raise from 2020, when he earned $7.6 million while having one of the greatest runs ever by a Dodgers shortstop.
Seager hit .307/.358/.585 with 15 home runs during the regular season, with a team-leading 151 wRC+. But in the postseason, Seager was even better, hitting .328/.425/.746 with eight home runs in 18 games while winning MVP in both the NLCS and World Series.
Given the oddities of a truncated 2020 season, the MLB Trade Rumors salary projections were all over the place, ranging from $9.3 million to $15 million. After a closer look at some recent comparable players in both performance and service time, my guess for Seager’s 2021 salary was $14.5 million.
Urías had a $1 million salary in 2020 as a Super Two player, among the top 22 percent of players with at least two years but not yet three years of major league service time.
Given his first real extended run in the starting rotation, Urías thrived last season, with a 3.27 ERA in 55 innings, with 45 strikeouts and 18 walks, and a 3.72 FIP. He followed that up with one of the great postseasons in franchise history, posting a minuscule 1.17 ERA with 29 strikeouts against only four walks in 23 innings. That October brilliance came in a variety of roles for Urías, including starting, bulk relief, and closing out both the NLCS (nine outs) and World Series (seven outs) with perfect, extended outings.
After his stellar, albeit shortened season in 2020, Urías had a wide range of projections from MLB Trade Rumors, from $1.6 million to $3 million. They were all low.
The Dodgers still have Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes eligible for salary arbitration.