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Entering his second year of salary arbitration Peter Bourjos and the St. Louis Cardinals have avoided an arbitration hearing. The two sides settled on a 2015 salary of $1.65MM up from $1.2MM in 2014. Bourjos played his usual stellar defense in centerfield with the club in 2014. However, offense was a struggle for the 27-year-old from Park Ridge, Illinois. Throughout 119 games and 294 at bats his slash line was .231/.294/.348. He also yielded a high strikeout rate, whiffing 78 times with only 20 walks. Bourjos will look to improve his offensive numbers and compete for a starting spot in centerfield.
- Earlier the Cardinals avoided arbitration with backup catcher, Tony Cruz. Cruz will earn $0.775MM in his first year of eligibility for arbitration.
- The Cardinals agreed to a contract with Lance Lynn, buying out all three seasons of his arbitration. You can read more about the Lynn deal here.
- The team has yet to settle with starting centerfielder Jon Jay. Jay will be in his second year of arbitration and earned $3.25MM in 2014. He is due for a raise in salary after slashing .303/.373/.378 and beating out Peter Bourjos for the starting spot.