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Giants agree to terms with five arbitration-eligible players

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The San Francisco Giants announced Friday afternoon the franchise has agreed to terms with all five of its arbitration-eligible players.

Second baseman Joe Panik and four relief pitchers signed contracts and will avoid the arbitration process. Cory Gearrin, Hunter Strickland, Sam Dyson and Will Smith all agreed to salaries for the 2018 season, and all are scheduled to play key roles in the Giants’ bullpen this year.

According to a report from Devan Fink of Beyond the Box Score, Panik agreed to a deal worth $3.45 million for the 2018 campaign, which represents a significant raise from the $600,000 Panik earned last year. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Smith agreed to a contact worth $2.5 million for next season as he prepares to return to action after undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring.

Terms of all five contracts were not disclosed, but Dyson was expected to command the most money of any arbitration-eligible player on the Giants’ roster. The former Texas Rangers’ closer joined San Francisco in June of last season and stepped into the closer role while Mark Melancon battled a pronator injury.

The salaries on all five deals are important for the Giants as the team is interested in keeping its 2018 payroll under the luxury tax threshold of $197 million. The Giants are repeat luxury tax offenders and hoping to reset their penalties this offseason by maintaining a payroll under the $197 million mark.