Rangers, Moreland avoid arbitration hearing ... barely
At lunchtime Tuesday, general manager Jon Daniels was prepared to go to Phoenix for an arbitration hearing that seemed to favor first baseman Mitch Moreland.
At 10 p.m., he had boarded a westbound flight for the hearing, which would have been a first for Daniels and the first for the Texas Rangers since they beat Lee Stevens in 2000.
The club and Moreland’s agent, Bob Garber, had been unable to find a meeting spot between the differences in salary figures they exchanged last month, and all signs pointed to a three-member arbitration panel deciding if Moreland would make the $4,675,000 the Rangers offered or the $6 million Moreland wanted.
But Daniels never closed the door on a last-minute deal, even though the flight attendants had closed the door on his flight, and somewhere over the friendly skies the Rangers and Moreland reached a settlement just before midnight as the minutes were dwindling away before their scheduled 11:30 a.m. hearing.
The sides came together on a one-year deal worth $5.7 million in Moreland’s final season before becoming a free agent. The agreement cleared the midpoint by more than $300,000 and represents a raise of $2.75 million for Moreland after the best season of his career.
MLB.com reported the deal in the wee hours Wednesday, and the Rangers confirmed it just before sunrise.
Moreland, 30, was the seventh and final Rangers arbitration-eligible player to sign for 2016. He connected for 23 homers in 2015, tying for the team lead (with Prince Fielder) and matching his career high. He also set personal-high marks in average (.278), doubles (27), RBIs (85), total bases (227) and slugging percentage (.485).
Jeff Wilson: 817-390-7760, @JeffWilson_FWST
This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 7:23 AM with the headline "Rangers, Moreland avoid arbitration hearing ... barely."