Average Raise Slows For Players In Arbitration

NEW YORK (AP) — With Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw and Pablo Sandoval getting the steepest increases, the overall rise of salaries for players in arbitration slowed to its lowest level since 2007. The 142 players who filed for arbitration last month averaged a 112 percent increase, according to a study of agreements by The Associated Press. That was down from an average jump of 123 percent last year and was the lowest increase since a 106 percent rise in 2007. Gonzalez, acquired by Washington in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, received a 20-fold increase from $420,000 to an average of $8.4 million in a $42 million, five-year contract with the Nationals. Kershaw, the NL Cy Young Award winner, got a 19-fold increase from $500,000 to an average of $9.5 million as part of a $19 million, two-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sandoval received the highest percentage raise among position players. After earning $500,000 last year for the San Francisco Giants, the third baseman...