Nats agree to terms with Tyler Clippard, avoiding arbitration

The Nationals announced today that they have agreed to terms with right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard on a deal for the 2014 season, avoiding arbitration. Clippard will make $5.875 million this season, according to CBSSports.com. Clippard had asked for $6.35 million, while the Nats had countered at $4.45 million, meaning that the two sides agreed to a deal nearly half a million above the midpoint between the two offers. In 2013, his second year of arbitration, Clippard made $4 million. He posted a 2.41 ERA and a ridiculous 0.859 WHIP in 71 innings, allowing just 37 hits all season. Clippard saved 32 games for the Nats in 2012, which is a large part of why his salary has jumped more than $4 million in two years. The 28-year-old righty has been a workhorse for the Nats the last four seasons, pitching at least 71 innings each year. He came over to the Nats in December of 2007 in a trade with the Yankees that sent Jonathan Albaladejo to New York. With this deal, the Nats have reached terms with all 10 of their arbitration-eligible players and will avoid having to go to an arbitration hearing, a process that both teams and players dread. Both sides typically try to steer clear of the hearings if at all possible, and Nats general manager Mike Rizzo, assistant general manager Bryan Minniti and others in the front office have done well to avoid what can be an awkward process.