Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has the D’Backs arbitration decisions. They offered arb to Juan Cruz (Type A), Brandon Lyon (Type B), and Orlando Hudson (Type A) while declining to offer it to Adam Dunn (Type A). I’m surprised by all but Hudson. The D’Backs are taking on a risk, as they don’t really have room in the budget for the two relievers. They must be confident they’ll decline or they can make trades.
Dunn at one year is a worthwhile risk with two draft picks at stake, but the D’Backs were apparently scared off by a possible payday north of $13MM. GM Josh Byrnes said of the decision, "The poor economy has affected some things." I’m sure Dunn doesn’t mind; he just became more attractive to other teams. We should know soon whether the Phillies offered arb to his righthanded counterpart, Pat Burrell.
Also, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert adds that Randy Johnson (Type B) was not offered arbitration. No surprise there.
