Orioles tender contracts to 11 arbitration-eligible players

The Orioles have tendered contracts to all 11 of their arbitration-eligible players, with confirmation coming this evening via the team.

The group includes first-timers Chris Tillman ($546,000 in 2014), Zach Britton ($521,500), Miguel Gonzalez ($529,000) and Ryan Flaherty ($513,000). The Orioles already were bracing for significant raises due to the three pitchers.

Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, Steve Pearce, Alejandro De Aza, Tommy Hunter and Bud Norris are entering their final year under team control before free agency. Brian Matusz is a Super Two, giving him four years of arbitration eligibility, and he can't test free agency until the conclusion of the 2016 season.

The sides will exchange salary figures and make the usual attempts to avoid a hearing. Executive vice president Dan Duquette could swing a trade. It's not a certainty that all 11 players will report to spring training, but they currently remain on the 40-man roster.

Davis may be the most interesting case, given his jump in salary from $3.3 million to $10.3 million last winter after hitting 53 home runs, and how he dipped to a .196/.300/.404 line with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs this season before his 25-game suspension for a second positive test for Adderall.

Tillman started on opening day and in Game 1 of the American League Division Series and Championship Series. He was 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 34 starts this season and exceeded 200 innings for the second consecutive year. The 34 starts tied for the major league lead.

Britton, pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in his career, went 3-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 71 games and notched 37 saves in 41 opportunities. He led all relievers with a 6.68 groundball-to-flyball ratio and 75.8 groundball percentage. He's the 10th different Oriole to record a 30-save season and the seventh American League left-hander in history with 37 or more saves.

Gonzalez was 10-9 with a 3.23 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) and posted a 2.19 ERA in 11 starts over the second half. He permitted three earned runs or fewer in 23 starts.

Is there a more underappreciated player in the organization?

Flaherty batted .221/.288/.356 with 15 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 102 games and was the player trusted to handle third base in the postseason. He played all four infield spots and the outfield this season. He also set career-highs in games, plate appearances (312), hits (62), runs (33), doubles, RBIs, walks (22) and total bases (100).

Wieters' salary went from $5.5 million in 2013 to $7.7 million this season, but he appeared in only 26 games before undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. He was off to a fantastic start, batting .308/.339/.500 with five doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs.

As I wrote yesterday morning, Wieters has started a light throwing program and still projects to start on opening day. We'll see.

De Aza made $4.25 million this season while batting .243/.309/.354 with 19 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 31 RBIs in 122 games with the White Sox and .293/.341/.537 with five doubles, three triples, three home runs and 10 RBIs in 20 games with the Orioles.

Norris earned $5.3 million this season, an increase from $3 million in 2013, and went 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA in 28 starts. His previous career-high was 10 wins. He went 9-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 14 starts against division opponents and the Orioles were 13-1 in those games.

The Orioles replaced Hunter as closer in May, but he went 3-2 with a 2.97 ERA and 11 saves in 60 outings while earning $3 million, an increase from $1.82 million the previous season. He posted a 1.73 ERA in his final 43 appearances.

Pearce has made $700,000 in each of the past two seasons and he's due for a nice bump in pay after setting career-highs across the board. In 102 games, Pearce batted .293/.373/.556 with 26 doubles, 21 home runs, 49 RBIs, 51 runs and 40 walks.

Matusz, whose salary went from $1.6 million to $2.4 million, was 2-3 with a 3.48 ERA in 63 appearances. Left-handers hit .223 against him and right-handers hit .277. The previous year, lefties hit .168 and right-handers hit .302.

Matusz posted a 1.42 ERA in 23 appearances in the second half, with one home run allowed, four walks and 26 strikeouts over 19 innings.

The Orioles still have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Note: Orioles manager Buck Showalter was named Baseball America's Manager of the Year, according to the publication's almanac.

Baseball America doesn't really promote the award. The news doesn't usually appear online, though it's expected to be published this week.