Dodgers avoid arbitration with four more players, including Kenley Jansen

The Dodgers pushed their payroll to about $200 million Friday by reaching agreements on one-year contracts with their four remaining arbitration-eligible players.

The largest salary was awarded to closer Kenley Jansen, who will earn $10.65 million this year, an increase from the $7.425 million he earned last year. Third baseman Justin Turner ($5.1 million), catcher Yasmani Grandal ($2.8 million) and left-hander Luis Avilan ($1.39 million) were the other arbitration-eligible players who received significant raises.

Friday was the deadline for teams to exchange salary figures with their arbitration-eligible players.

Earlier in the week, the two other players who filed for arbitration agreed to one-year deals. Right-hander Chris Hatcher signed for $1.065 million and outfielder Scott Van Slyke for $1.225 million.

The Dodgers’ payroll is about $100 million less than it was last year, as the team has significantly reduced its obligations to players who are no longer with the club. The exception is the $3.5 million they owe the San Diego Padres to cover a portion of Matt Kemp’s salary. Last season, the Dodgers paid about $90 million in so-called “dead money.”

Jansen, 28, is considered one of the best closers in baseball. He saved 34 games last year and posted an earned-run average of 2.41.

Turner, 31, was the Dodgers’ cleanup hitter last year, when he earned $2.5 million. Designated for assignment by the New York Mets only two off-seasons ago, Turner batted .294 with 16 home runs and 60 runs batted in over 126 games. He is recovering from knee surgery but is expected to be healthy when the Dodgers open spring training next month.

Grandal, 27, was eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. Earning a modest $693,000 last season, Grandal made his first All-Star team. But Grandal hit only two of his 16 home runs after the All-Star break and underwent an off-season surgical procedure on his left shoulder.

Avilan, who earned $530,000 last year, was also eligible for arbitration for the first time. The 26-year-old was acquired by the Dodgers from the Atlanta Braves in a three-way trade in July that involved the Miami Marlins. He made 73 appearances last year for the Dodgers and Braves, which tied him for the 10th-most in the National League.

Grandal and Avilan can become free agents at the end of the 2018 season.

Jansen and Turner can become free agents at the end of the upcoming season.

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Twitter: @dylanohernandez