Today was the deadline for players and teams to come to an agreement over a contract or file for salary arbitration, and the Seattle Mariners had three eligible players: Injured closer David Aardsma, setup man Brandon League, and starter Jason Vargas. None of them will be going before the arbitration panel, as each have signed a one-year deal that takes them through 2011, according to a twitter update from TheRealSeattleMariners:
#Mariners sign David Aardsma, Brandon League and Jason Vargas to 2011 contracts. Mariners won't have any players to through arbitration.
Today's signings continue the team's now eight-year streak of avoiding the famously combative arbitration process, with Jack Zduriencik's front office apparently no fonder of the system than Bill Bavasi's. The last Mariner to go through arbitration was Freddy Garcia in 2003 (he won his $6.9M claim). No contract terms were available for any of the pitchers who signed deals with the team today. Aardsma had a 3.44 ERA with 31 saves last year as the Mariners closer, while League and Vargas has nine wins apiece with a 3.42 ERA and 3.78 ERA respectively.