Brett Gardner, Yankees Avoid Arbitration

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Yankees and Brett Gardner have settled at $2.8M to avoid arbitration. Gardner filed at $3.2M and the New York Yankees filed at $2.4M, so these numbers mark the exact midpoint.

Gardner, 28, was in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The outfielder played in 159 games this season, hitting .259/.345/.369 with 49 stolen bases (13 CS) and stellar defense. Baseball Reference had his 2011 season valued at 4.4 wins above replacement. To date, he's a career .264/.353/.368 hitter in just over 1500 plate appearances, and he's already stolen 135 bases.

New York has already settled deals with pitchers David Robertson, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Their remaining unsigned arb-eligibles for 2012 are now just Boone Logan and Russell Martin. Logan filed for $2.1M, with the Yanks filing at $1.7M; Martin, meanwhile, filed at $8.2M, with the Yanks filing at $7M

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