The Dodgers reached agreement with their two arbitration-eligible players Friday. A.J. Ellis and Ronald Belisario signed one-year deals with $2 million and $1.45 million, respectively.
Belisario, 30, finished the 2012 season as the Dodgers’ primary eighth-inning reliever. He began the season by serving a 25-game suspension tied to cocaine possession, which prevented him from leaving Venezuela in 2011 and caused him to miss the entire season. The right-hander is 15-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 196 career games, all out of the bullpen.
Ellis, 31, became the Dodgers’ starting catcher in 2012 after spending most of the previous nine seasons in the minor leagues. He batted .270 with 13 home runs and a team-leading .373 on-base percentage.
The Dodgers have avoided going to arbitration with any player for six years. Pitcher Joe Beimel was the last, in 2007.