Blevins wins arbitration case

By Josh Land

Nationals

February 11, 2015, 7:09am

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Nationals relief pitcher Jerry Blevins won his arbitration case against the Nationals today.

The left-hander was scheduled to make $1.675 million in 2015 before arbitration and was arguing for a bump to a salary of $2.4 million. The Nationals countered with an offer of $2.2 million. The three-person panel in St. Petersburg, Fla., decided in favor of Blevins.

The 31-year-old Blevins was 2-3 with a 4.87 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings last season, his first with the Nats after being acquired in an offseason trade with the A's. However, left-handed hitters batted only .160 against him. When we last saw Blevins, he was unhittable, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the National League Division Series in critical situations.

Blevins has a 15-9 record with a 3.58 ERA in his eight-year career. Before joining the Nationals, he pitched for seven seasons in Oakland, where he also shut out the Tigers in 3 2/3 innings in the 2012 American League Division Series.

Blevins is the only player on this year's roster to reach an arbitration hearing and the first for the organization since 2012.