The Nationals and Bryce Harper avoided a grievance hearing with a salary settlement:

It is not clear how much the sides settled for. Harper, 22, would have likely made about $2.5 million through arbitration, according to an estimate made by the reliable MLBTradeRumors.com. In the arbitration system, salaries compound from year to year, so the amount at stake for Harper would be more than just this year’s salary.

My guess is they split the difference at $2 million. There already seemed to be some tension between the sides over this, and a hearing would have made things worse. It’s good both sides avoided that.

Update: The Nationals and Harper agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal, and it looked like Harper got all he wanted:

The two sides were scheduled to have a grievance hearing Tuesday before coming to terms on a two-year, $7.5 million contract, sources told Heyman. Harper will make $2.5 million in 2015 and $5 million in 2016.

So the sides don’t need to worry about arbitration until after the 2016 season. While Bryce is getting more money this season, if he should have a monster year in 2015, the Nationals won’t have to pay the arbitration rate in 2016. Of course, if Harper puts up a monster year, the Nationals may extend him for a very long time.