Twins Avoid Arbitration with Duensing, Plouffe, Swarzak

The Minnesota Twins have reached agreements on one-year contracts with all three of their arbitration eligible players, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. Brian Duensing, who was in his second turn at arbitration, will earn $2 million in 2014. Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Swarzak, both eligible for the first time, will earn $2.5 million and $935K, respectively.

With that, the Twins have wrapped up one of their last internal procedures of the offseason. Now, the focus shifts to remaining free agent targets and preparing for spring training, which is suddenly only about a month away.

The salaries for Minnesota's three arbitration eligible players are basically in line with expectations. The agreements serve as a reminder that in many cases compensation is determined more by role than effectiveness. Duensing and Swarzak both had better seasons than Plouffe, but as full-time relievers they received much smaller raises than the regular third baseman.

One interesting wrinkle is that Swarzak's contract includes a $25,000 bonus if he makes 10 or more starts this year, another indication that the Twins may still view him as a starter despite his success in the bullpen.