According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers chose shortstop Angel Berroa’s $500K buyout over his $5.5MM option for ’09. Easy call for a utility guy. Technically Berroa is arbitration-eligible, but Gurnick says they will non-tender him rather than pay him the minimum allowable $2.85MM. ESPN’s Buster Olney believes the Dodgers will try to re-sign Berroa for less after he’s non-tendered.
Berroa’s four-year, $11MM contract from the Royals is one of the few young player deals that did not work out. With the Dodgers this year, he hit .230/.304/.310 in 256 plate appearances while playing average defense.
