Henderson Alvarez agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Marlins on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.

Alvarez agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Marlins on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.

Analysis:

Relying heavily on the groundball (53.8% GB%), Alvarez posted a 2.65 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 30 starts for Miami last season en route to his first All-Star bid. He'll be rewarded in his first year of arbitration with a significant pay raise, and while he doesn't strike out enough batters to ever be among the elite starting pitching options (just 4.8 K/9 for career), his contributions in the ratio categories and potential for wins on an improved team will make him a popular target in the middle rounds this spring.