Duda, Mejia agree with Mets and avoid arbitration

NEW YORK (AP) First baseman Lucas Duda and suspended reliever Jenrry Mejia have agreed to one-year contracts with the New York Mets and avoided salary arbitration.

Duda agreed at $6,725,000, up from $4.2 million last year, when he hit .244 with 27 homers and 73 RBIs. The agreement was $75,000 above the midpoint between the $7.4 million he had asked for in arbitration and the $5.9 million the Mets had offered.

Mejia settled at $2.47 million, a cut from his $2,595,000 salary in 2015. He was suspended for 80 games on April 11 following a positive test for Stanozolol, then banned for an additional 162 games on July 28 after a positive test for Stanozolol and Boldenone, discipline that reduced his actual earnings to $496,311.

Mejia had asked for $2,595,000 and had been offered $2,345,000.

Two Mets remain in arbitration: new second baseman Neil Walker and Mejia's successor as closer, Jeurys Familia.