Winker avoids arbitration with 2-year deal

SEATTLE -- Jesse Winker was the final Mariners player that hadn’t yet settled his case for salary arbitration with the club, but he and the team put that to rest on Thursday with a deal that bought out not just this year, but also 2023.

The two-year agreement is for $14.5 million, according to a source, with Winker earning $6.25 million this season and $8.25 million next.

Winker, who is in his second of three eligible years for arbitration, had filed for $7 million back in March, but the club had countered at $5.4 million. He’s now excited to put some of that lingering uncertainty behind. The soonest Winker would’ve been eligible for free agency is the 2023-24 offseason, which he’s still on track for.

“I think anytime just as a person, knowing where you're going to be, I think it's just better for you,” Winker said. “I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to be a part of this.”

Players who have three or more years of Major League service time but less than six become eligible for salary arbitration, essentially allowing them to litigate for their value in court. Both the player and team present figures, based on performance from the year prior, at which point a three-person panel rules in favor of one or the other.

Often, it can be awkward, but especially this year, since most cases have been conducted during the season due to the lockout lasting throughout February, when they typically take place. In that regard, Winker is relieved that his case didn’t reach court. And Winker’s 2022 performance would not have been taken into consideration had it reached that point.

“I don't think anybody was a fan of that, on both sides, to be honest with you,” Winker said. “I'm a baseball player. I just want to play baseball.”

Only Winker, right fielder Mitch Haniger and second baseman Adam Frazier did not reach an agreement by the arbitration filing deadline on March 22. Shortly after, Haniger and the Mariners reached a $7.75 million deal, but Frazier went to court and earned the $8 million he filed for in May, compared the team’s $6.7 million counter.

“I don't get involved in it at all,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Frankly, I know it was something that dragged into this season because of the late start to the year. I know if I was a player, it would probably weigh on my mind.”

The timing of Thursday’s agreement and Winker’s continued struggles at the plate are merely coincidental. He would’ve been under club control through next year regardless.

The 28-year-old left fielder had played in 61 of the Mariners’ 63 games entering Thursday’s contest against the Angels, hitting .214/.326/.308 (.634 OPS) with nine doubles, four homers and 24 RBIs in 264 plate appearances. He’s seen a significant production dip compared to last year, when he had a .949 OPS and 24 homers in 110 games with the Reds, whom the Mariners acquired him from in a splashy Spring Training trade on March 14, along with slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez.

Winker didn’t suggest that the distraction of his salary situation might have contributed to his early-season woes, but he did say he was relieved to be focused exclusively on baseball moving forward.

“I don't want to say I was really thinking about it a lot,” Winker said. “But I think no matter where you kind of are, it’s somewhere in your mind. So it's nice not to have to think about it anymore, and I really enjoy it here and this is where I want to be, so I'm excited about that.”