The Padres' front runner for the 5th starter role gets his 2014 deal.
On a day when many players got cut from their teams, Eric Stults got financially security for the 2014 season with his. Yesterday was the deadline for teams to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible players. Any player not offered a contract (or non-tendered in baseball parlance) becomes a free agent. The Padres tendered all of their arbitration eligible players, but also were able to agree to contracts with the two pitchers including Stults.
Eric Stults agreed to a $2.75 million, one year contract that comes in at $250K less than what MLBTradeRumors.com projected him to get. This was Stults' first year of arbitration eligibility even though he will be 34 next week. He is the oldest player on the roster. He is currently is penciled in as the team's 5th starter. He has earned his status as the favorite with a solid 2013 season and an excellent second half to the 2012 campaign. He will compete with Robbie Erlin, Burch Smith and possibly Cory Luebke for that spot, but is clearly the favorite.