ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Houston Astros beat Kyle Tucker in arbitration on Thursday, and the All-Star outfielder will make $5 million rather than his $7.5 million request.
Outfielder Harold Ramirez became the third player to go to arbitration with the Tampa Bay Rays, arguing for a $2.2 million salary during Thursday's hearing rather than the team's $1.9 million offer.
Toronto infielder Bo Bichette avoided a hearing when he finalized a $33.6 million, three-year contract.
The $2.5 million gap between Tucker and the Astros matched Bichette's with the Blue Jays for the largest among 33 players who exchanged proposed salaries with their teams last month. Tucker's case was heard Wednesday by John Stout, Fredric Horowitz and Jules Bloch, who held their decision until after Bichette's agreement was finalized.
Tucker, 26, hit .257 with 30 homers, a career-best 107 RBIs and stole 25 bases and won a Glove Glove last year after batting .294 with 30 homers and 92 RBIs in 2021. He had a $764,200 salary last year and was eligible for arbitration for the first time.
