97.1 The Ticket -- The Tigers and right-handed pitcher Michael Fulmer have avoided arbitration, as the club announced they had agreed to a one-year contract.
The 26-year-old was the first Tigers player to go before an arbitrator in 18 years, after he and the club could not settle on a salary. Fulmer, prior to suffering his injury, had asked for $3.4 million, but wound up making $.28 million after arbitration.
Four other Tigers are aribtration-eligible this year, including starters Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris, reliever Buck Farmer and outfielder JaCoby Jones.
Players who have less than three but more than two years of service time -- which Fulmer fell into prior to 2019 arbitration -- can also become arbitration eligible if they meet certain criteria; these are known as "Super Two" players.
During his Rookie of the Year campaign, Fulmer went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA -- just shy of the league's best mark, set by Aaron Sanchez of Toronto -- and 132 strikeouts. His numbers dipped a bit in 2017 (10-12, 3.83 ERA), before struggling to a 3-12 record and 4.69 ERA in 2018.
Fulmer has battled various injuries throughout his career, including a short stint on the DL with an elbow issue in 2017 and a torn meniscus that cut his 2018 campaign short.