Clayton Richard and the Padres Avoid Arbitration

The Padres avoided arbitration with pitcher Clayton Richard, who was the last of eight Padres’ arbitration-eligible players to be signed. The left-hander originally asked for $5.55 million before agreeing to a $5.24 million deal, Corey Brock reports.

August 19, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Clayton Richard (33) throws during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Richard rejected the Padres initial offer of $4.905 million. The agreement was a bit of a surprise as the so-called baseball experts had thought the Padres and Richard wouldn’t agree to terms and would have to go through the rigorous arbitration process.

The Indiana native was sidelined for most of the 2011 season before returning healthy in 2012 where he was the only Padre pitcher to make all of his starts with 33. Last season, Richard had a 14-14 record with a 3.99 ERA in 218 2/3 innings pitched.