According to CAA Sports, James Loney and the Los Angeles Dodgers have avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a $4.875 million deal.

This is Loney’s second year of arbitration eligibility.  He will continue to be under team control through the 2012 season.

The 26-year-old gets a raise from his 2010 salary of $3.1 million. Loney had been asking for $5.25 million while the Dodgers offered $4.70 million.  The midpoint was $4.97 million.

In 161 games with the Dodgers in 2010, the first baseman hit .267/.329/.395 with 10 home runs and 88 RBIs.  This was a decrease from 2009 when he hit .281/.357/.399 with 13 home runs and 90 RBIs.