Yency Almonte was among the several Minor League signings the Los Angeles Dodgers made during Spring Training last year, and the right-hander went on to play a pivotal role out of the bullpen.
Almonte went into the offseason eligible for salary arbitration for the first time in his career. Almonte was among the 10 Dodgers who was tendered a contract in November to keep him under team control at least through the 2023 season.
Ahead of Friday’s deadline, the Dodgers reached reported agreements with Walker Buehler, Caleb Ferguson, Dustin May, Will Smith, Trayce Thompson and Julio Urías.
According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Dodgers and Almonte have also avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.5 million salary:
#Dodgers and Yency Almonte settle at $1.5 million to avoid arbitration, per source.
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) January 13, 2023
MLB Trade Rumors projected Almonte would receive a $1 million salary for 2023.
Almonte began last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was called up on May 12. He remained with the Dodgers for the rest of the regular season.
Almonte appeared in 33 games, yielding an impressive 1.02 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 33 strikeouts and .150 batting average against over 35.1 innings. He emerged as a trusted late-game option for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and the only downside of the 2022 season was Almonte needing to go on the 15-day injured list because of right elbow inflammation.
The injury kept him out for two months and in addition to rest, was treated with a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection. Almonte returned in late September to close out the regular season with four scoreless appearances.
The 28-year-old carried that success into the postseason with two games of not allowing a run to the San Diego Padres, but he then gave up two in the decided Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
Yency Almonte thanks Dodgers fans
While the Dodgers’ season ended in disappointment, Almonte thanked fans for their endless support and deemed them the “best in baseball.”
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