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Yankees avoid arbitration with several players

It’s that time of the offseason, as teams try to come to terms with arbitration eligible players. The Yankees have already cleared out three of their five players on the arbitration docket. If both the player and team are unable to come to an agreement, the player will have an arbitration hearing before a three-person panel scheduled between Feb. 1 and Feb. 20.

Reliever Shawn Kelley avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a deal for 2014 worth $1.765 million. He’ll get a $25,000 bonus if he appears in 55 games. Kelley went 4-2 with a 4.39 ERA in 2013, pitching mostly in the seventh inning.

Francisco Cervelli, who was injured and ultimately suspended last year for violating the Joint Drug Agreement, will earn $700,000 in 2014. He’ll be competing for the backup catching job in spring training, along with Austin Romine and maybe JR Murphy.

Brett Gardner will double his salary from 2013 after avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a deal worth $5.6 million. Gardner will likely slide over to left field to accomodate the newly acquired Jacoby Ellsbury. This was Gardner’s last year of arbitration eligibility, meaning he’ll be an outright free agent next winter. He’s been linked to various trade rumors already, as the Yankees have tried to land a top notch starter to add to the rotation.

Still waiting are David Robertson and Ivan Nova. This will be D-Rob’s final year of arbitration eligibility, while Nova will be an outright free agent starting in 2017. As of right now, the Yankees’ payroll stands at 161.543 million, about $28 million away from the dreaded $189 mil. threshold.