Padres, Bard agree to contract
As we get closer to arbitration cases going to a hearing, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to see a lot of one-year deals being handed out during the first week of Spring Training. The first one to take place after pitchers and catchers report is that of the Padres and catcher Josh Bard.
Bard and the Padres agreed on a one-year contract for $2.2375 million. Bard was asking for $2.5 million through arbitration, while the Padres countered with $1.85 million, so they settled for just below the mid-point.
Bard will be the team’s primary catcher again in 2008, though Michael Barrett still figures to get his fair share of time behind the plate. He underwent an arthroscopic surgery on his wrist that bothered him last season, but it shouldn’t effect him as we head into 2008.
Filed under: Josh Bard, Michael Barrett, San Diego Padres