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Jonathan Schoop, Orioles agree to $8.5M deal

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to an $8.5 million, one-year contract.

The deal Tuesday was $250,000 above the midpoint between the $9 million Schoop asked for and the $7.5 million the Orioles offered when the sides exchanged proposed salaries last month. Schoop can earn additional award bonuses.

An arbitration hearing had been scheduled for Thursday in Phoenix.

The 26-year-old made $3.55 million last year, when he was a first-time All-Star and hit .293 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs. He played in 160 games last season after participating in all 162 in 2016.

Schoop has a .264 career batting average with 89 homers and 272 RBIs. He is eligible for free agency after the 2019 season.

Baltimore right-hander Kevin Gausman remains scheduled for a hearing. In what could be the busiest year in arbitration since 1990, 14 players remain scheduled for hearings through Feb. 16, with the latest to join that list being Chicago White Sox infielder Yolmer Sanchez.

Sanchez asked for a raise from $546,000 to $2.35 million, and Chicago argued he should be paid $2.1 million.

Sanchez set career bests last year with a .267 average, 12 homers and 59 RBIs and a .319 on-base percentage. He appeared in 78 games at second base, 52 at third, four at shortstop and one in right field. A decision by arbitrators Robert Herzog, Sylvia Skratek and Walt De Treux is expected Wednesday.

The players hold a 5-3 edge against teams in arbitration cases this year after the Cincinnati Reds won their case against infielder Eugenio Suarez on Tuesday.

Suarez has been Cincinnati's starting third baseman the past two years after switching from shortstop. He hit .260 last season and set career highs with 26 homers and 82 RBIs on a team that finished last in the NL Central at 68-94. Arbitrators Mark Burstein, Jeanne Wood and James Darby decided in favor of the Reds, a day after hearing arguments.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.