Smyly wins MLB's 1st arbitration case of 2016
Drew Smyly has successfully won baseball's first arbitration case of the winter after a panel ruled against the Tampa Bay Rays and awarded the left-hander a $3.75 million salary for next season.
Smyly earned $2.65 million last year while the Rays filed a 2016 salary of $3.2 million for the 26-year-old pitcher.
Smyly, a former second-round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers, made 12 starts for the Rays last season, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.11 ERA across 66 2/3 innings of work.
He started the season on the disabled list because of left shoulder tendinitis, and went back on the DL later in the year because of a torn labrum.
Fifteen additional players remain in arbitration, with hearings scheduled through Feb. 19.
Teams went 8-6 last year, the most hearings since 2001, and are 301-221 since arbitration began in 1974.
- With files from The Associated Press