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 The Oakland Athletics have cleared the final salary arbitration player off their list by signing starting right-handed pitcher Justin Duchscherer to a 1-year, $3.9 million deal, thus avoiding arbitration.
In addition, Duchscherer can earn an additional $150,000 in performance bonuses based on starts. Duchscherer was 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA and .210 opponents batting average in 22 starts for the A’s last year. He was named to the American League All-Star team for the second time and led the A’s in wins, despite two stints on the disabled list. Duchscherer did not qualify for the league leaders with 141.2 innings pitched but, based on a minimum of 140 innings, he had the lowest opponents batting average, slugging percentage (.322) and on-base percentage (.268) in the American League and the second lowest ERA. The 2008 season marked his first as a regular member of the starting rotation after appearing in 188 games over the previous four seasons, all in relief. The 31-year old right-hander is now 30-23 with a 2.82 ERA in six seasons with the A’s and his ERA is third lowest in Oakland history. Duchscherer’s asking figure in salary arbitration was $4.6 million while the A’s were offering $3 million. Duchscherer’s $3.9 million is $100,000 above the mid-point between the two salary arbitration figures. He is the first player out of the five that have signed deals since figures were exchanged that sees his 2009 salary above the mid-point. His raise from $1.33 million last season to $3.9 million in 2009 marks a 193% increase in pay from 2008. To date, 64 players that filed for arbitration have signed 1-year deals. Multi-year deals are Greg Dobbs, Prince Fielder, Jayson Werth (2-years), Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson (3-years), Kevin Youkilis (4-years), and Nick Markakis (6-years). The average salary for those 64 players in 2009 is currently at just under $2.5 million ($2,496,215). Forty-six players exchanged salary arbitration figures with their respective clubs on Jan. 20. Since then, 5 players have reached deals. Melky Cabrera (1-year, $1.4 million reached just after figures were exchanged) Prince Fielder (2-year/$18.025 million), Chad Durbin (1-year, $1.635 million), Jayson Werth (2-year, $10 million) and Duchscherer (1-year, $3.9 million). The average 2009 salary for these players is $3,239,167. FOR MORE SIGNING DETAILS SEE: Salary Arbitration Filings Tracker Salary Arbitration Figures Tracker Arbitration Scorecard Free Agent Tracker MORE ON SALARY ARBITRATION - By the Numbers: A Breakdown of the '08 Salary Arbitration
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- Mariners, "King" Felix Hernandez Reach 1-year, $3.8M Deal
- Phillies, Cole Hamels Agree to 3-Year, $20.5M Deal
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- Big Names, High Stakes Highlight Salary Arbitration Filings
 Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
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