Mariners notebook: OF prospect Eric Filia suspended for 2nd time
Jan 12, 2018, 4:25 PM
Mariners outfield prospect Eric Filia has been hit with his second suspension from baseball. (AP)
(AP)
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Friday that Mariners minor league outfielder Eric Filia has been suspended 50 games following a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Filia, who finished last season at High-A Modesto, is currently on the Double-A Arkansas roster.
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The team released the following statement:
“The Seattle Mariners are disappointed that Eric Filia has violated the terms Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Or organization fully supports the Program and its efforts.
Per the Basic Agreement, the Mariners will have no further comment.”
Rated as the No. 21 prospect in the Mariners organization, Filia took the Arizona Fall League batting title, hitting .408/.483/.605 in 22 games. While spring training rosters have yet to be announced, it was assumed that performance was expected to earn him an invite to big league camp.
The 50-game suspension without pay will be effective at the start of the Texas League season.
Notes
• For a fourth straight year, the Mariners will not be taking a player to salary arbitration with all five remaining arbitration-eligible players coming to agreements on contracts before salary figures were due to be exchanged. While all 5 players have agreed to one-year contracts, we do not yet have the numbers for all of them. According to reports, James Paxton (second-year arbitration-eligible) will earn $4.9 million, David Phelps (fourth year) $5.55 million and Mike Zunino (first year) $2.95 million. Figures for Erasmo Ramirez and Nick Vincent have yet to be made public. With the new salaries, the Mariners payroll (using numbers from Cot’s Baseball Contracts and MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration estimates) is currently around $157 million.
• The final results of Hall of Fame balloting will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 24. With 42.9 percent of the known ballots in, Edgar Martinez’s name is currently on 80.9 percent of the ballots made public. He needs 75 percent to be inducted.
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