The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to one-year deals with outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Corey Dickerson, avoiding arbitration.
The club did not disclose the terms of the deals. According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Kiermaier will earn $2.975 million in 2017, a significant bump from his $514,400 salary in 2016. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that Dickerson's contract is worth $3.025 million, a similar raise from the $522,900 he made last season.
Kiermaier, 26, won the AL Gold Glove Award in center field last season, claiming the hardware for a second consecutive year. Despite missing 48 games, his 25 Defensive Runs Saved led all MLB center fielders. At the plate, Kiermaier slashed .246/.331/.410, while posting career highs in home runs (12), stolen bases (21) and walks (40).
Dickerson slashed .245/.293/.469 in 148 games last season, his first with the Rays. The 27-year-old tied his career high with 24 home runs and set new career highs with 36 doubles and 63 extra-base hits. More than half of Dickerson's hits went for extra bases.
Tampa Bay also agreed to terms with infielders Tim Beckham and Brad Miller, along with pitchers Brad Boxberger, Xavier Cedeno, Alex Cobb, Danny Farquhar and Erasmo Ramirez.
The Rays' only arbitration-eligible player who didn't come to terms with the team was pitcher Jake Odorizzi.
