NEW YORK (AP) — Boston outfielder Jarren Duran and right-hander Kutter Crawford are among 29 players with two-to-three years or service time who are eligible for salary arbitration, and Atlanta left-hander Angel Perdomo just missed the cutoff.
Seattle’s George Kirby also is among the so-called Super 2s along with fellow right-handers Shane Baz (Tampa Bay), Kyle Bradish (Baltimore), Edward Cabrera (Miami), Ryan Feltner (Colorado), Ben Lively (Cleveland) and Andre Pallante (St. Louis).
Left-handers include Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels, who pitched a no-hitter against Tampa Bay as a rookie in May 2022, and Bailey Falter of Pittsburgh. Among the outfielders are MJ Melendez of Kansas City and Jarred Kelenic of Atlanta. Minnesota shortstop Royce Lewis also is eligible.
The cutoff was set at 2 years, 132 days of major league service, up from 2 years, 118 days last offseason. The cutoff was as low as 2 years, 115 days in 2019 and as high as 2 years, 146 days in 2011.
Washington right-hander Michael Rucker was the last player above the cutoff but became a free agent Monday after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester. Seattle catcher Seby Zavala would have been eligible but elected free agency last month.
Perdomo, who has 2 years, 131 days of service, is recovering from last year's Tommy John surgery.
Others eligible include Washington catcher Riley Adams, Detroit right-hander Beau Brieske, Seattle catcher Luis Campusano, Toronto shortstop Ernie Clement, New York Yankees right-hander Scott Effross, Miami catcher Nick Fortes, Miami left-hander Braxton Garrett, Pittsburgh right-hander Colin Holderman, Oakland right-hander Dany Jiménez, Detroit third baseman Andy Ibáñez, Colorado right-hander Justin Lawrence, Atlanta left-hander Dylan Lee, Chicago White Sox right-hander Penn Murfee, Toronto right-hander Zach Pop and San Francisco right-hander Austin Warren.
The top 22% of players by service time with at least two years but less than three are eligible for arbitration as long as they had at least 86 days of service this year. They join the group of three-to-six-year players.
Players and teams are set to exchange proposed salaries on Jan. 9, and hearings for those lacking agreements will be scheduled for Jan. 27 to Feb. 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Players were eligible after two years of service from 1974-85, and the threshold increased to three years in 1986. The super 2 class began in 1991 at 17% and it increased to 22% in 2013.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Boston Red Sox's Kutter Crawford pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sept. 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
FILE - Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, center, returns to the dugout after scoring on an error after Vaughn Grissom hit a double in the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sept. 29, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
