10:27am: Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Amarista receives a $100K signing bonus before earning $1.1MM in 2015 and $1.3MM in 2016 (Twitter link).
8:38am: The Padres and infielder Alexi Amarista have agreed to a two-year, $2.5MM contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The deal will buy out Amarista’s first two years of arbitration eligibility. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected a $1.5MM salary for Amarista in 2015.
Amarista, 26 in April, batted .239/.286/.314 in 2014 and is a lifetime .234/.279/.336 hitter. He’s homered five times in each of the past three seasons and swiped 12 bags in 13 attempts last year. Amarista is, at this point, one of two players (along with Clint Barmes) projected to see significant time at shortstop for the Padres this season, though the team could always look for an upgrade and shift Amarista into a super utility role, as he’s capable of playing short, second base, third base and the corner outfield positions. San Diego originally acquired Amarista along with Donn Roach from the Angels in exchange for Ernesto Frieri.
