Moniak beats Angels in arbitration, Leiter goes to hearing, King and Contreras reach deals

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Mickey Moniak defeated the Los Angeles Angels in salary arbitration on Friday when the outfielder was awarded a raise to $2 million instead of the team’s offer of $1.5 million.

Melinda Gordon, Samantha Tower and John Woods made the decision one day after listening to arguments.

Reliever Mark Leiter Jr. became the first player to go to a hearing with the New York Yankees since pitcher Dellin Betances lost in 2017. Leiter asked for $2.5 million and the team argued for $2.05 million before Allen Ponak, Robert Herzog and Scott Buchheit.

Leiter's decision will be withheld until after a determination in the case of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia and issued simultaneously with the decision for Pittsburgh pitcher Dennis Santana.

San Diego pitcher Michael King avoided a hearing when he agreed Friday to a deal guaranteeing $7.75 million for one year. Milwaukee catcher William Contreras also settled, agreeing to a deal guaranteeing $6.1 million.

Moniak hit .219 with 14 homers and a career-high 49 RBIs last year. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $770,000.

Six other players are scheduled for hearings, which run through Feb. 14. Angels first baseman/second baseman Luis Rengifo has asked for $5.95 million and been offered $5.8 million.

Right-hander Jovan Oviedo lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday in the first salary arbitration decision of the year. He will earn $850,000 instead of his request for $1.15 million.

Leiter, who turns 34 in March, was 4-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 60 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs and Yankees, who acquired him on July 30. He was 2-1 with a 4.98 ERA for the Yankees, and made six postseason appearances. Leiter had a $1.5 million salary.

He replaced Clay Holmes with two on and one out in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the Division Series against Cleveland and preserved a 6-5 lead when he retired Jhonkensy Noel on a flyout and struck out Andrés Giménez. He surrendered David Fry’s tying single in the eighth, but the Yankees went on to an 8-6 victory.

Leiter pitched three scoreless innings over four games of the World Series against the Dodgers.

In addition to Vesia and Rengifo, players still scheduled for hearings include Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and a trio of St. Louis Cardinals: outfielder/infielder Brendan Donovan, outfielder Lars Nootbaar and right-hander Andre Pallante.

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