Many players avoided arbitration today, but dozens of others exchanged figures with their teams in anticipation of hearings. Most cases won't go to arbitration hearings, but teams such as the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays and Braves have stuck to 'file and trial' policies in the past.
MLBTR's arbitration tracker will keep you up to date on every one of the filing numbers from around the game, but here are the highlights — players who filed for $4MM or more. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com had most of the info with MLBTR and others also contributing:
- Tim Lincecum filed at $21.5MM, while the Giants filed at $17MM, as noted earlier.
- David Ortiz filed for $16.5MM, while the Red Sox offered $12.65MM, Heyman tweets.
- Hunter Pence filed for $11.8MM, while the Phillies countered at $9MM, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
- Mike Napoli filed for $11.5MM while the Rangers countered at $8.3MM, Heyman tweets.
- Jeremy Guthrie filed for $10.25MM, while the Orioles filed at $7.25MM Heyman tweets.
- Matt Garza filed for $12.5MM, while the Cubs countered at $7.95MM, Heyman tweets.
- Clayton Kershaw filed for $10MM, while the Dodgers countered at $6.5MM, Heyman tweets.
- Shaun Marcum filed for $8.7MM and the Brewers countered with $6.75MM, according to the Associated Press via MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Russell Martin filed for $8.2MM, while the Yankees offered $7MM, MLBTR has learned.
- Nelson Cruz filed at $7.5MM, while the Rangers countered at $5.5MM, Heyman tweets.
- Adam Jones filed for $7.4MM, while the Orioles offered $5MM, Heyman tweets.
- Miguel Montero filed at $6.8MM, while the Diamondbacks filed $5.4MM according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
- John Lannan filed for $5.7MM, while the Nationals countered at $5MM, Heyman tweets.
- Alex Gordon filed at $5.45MM, while the Royals countered at $4.15MM, Heyman tweets.
- Asdrubal Cabrera filed for $5.2MM, while the Indians countered at $3.75MM, Heyman tweets.
- Michael Morse filed at $5MM, while the Nationals countered with $3.5MM, Heyman tweets.
- Andrew Bailey filed for $4.7MM, while the Red Sox filed for $3.35MM, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets.
- Brandon Morrow filed for $4.2MM, while the Blue Jays countered at $3.9MM, MLBTR has learned.
Jeff Neimann filed for 3.2 million, Rays countered with 2.7 million.
Wow, Kersh and Ned are way apart. Better just sign him to an extension now before it gets even more costly…
Napoli filed for $11.5MM while the Rangers countered at $8.3MM.. wow Napoli is a good player, but almost 12 million good… no.
Jeremy Guthrie filed for $10.25MM….. ummm no. Maybe, he’s trying to force a trade with that kind of asking price. Especially, when Kershaw asked for 10 million.
It’s one thing to think you’re Kershaw, it’s another to be Kershaw.
Adam Jones filed for $7.4MM, asking less than 600 k than Ellsbury got. As someone told me, you can ask, doesn’t mean you’re going to get it.
Alex Gordon filed at $5.45MM… that’s a steal. I would love to have Gordon and the Royals should too! Give him what he wants!
As a side note, one of my favorite Orioles Andino asked for 1.6 million, O’s countered 1 million. I would meet him halfway at 1.3. He has another good year, then we can talk turkey! Give him the same deal Santiago got from the Tigers.
The amount that players get in arbitration is based on how many years they have been in the big leagues. In your first 3 years in MLB, you get close to the minimum ($480K). In your 1st arbitration year, you get about 40% of your worth, then 60%, then 80%, then you’re a FA. Ellsbury agreeing to $8M means that he thinks he is worth $13+M. The value of players is usually based on their past 2 seasons (Ellsbury missed almost all of 2010).
lefty, finally we ve found common ground! jones is out of his mind.
You may want to look into how arb works… it’s 40/60/80 for 1, 2 , 3 and super 2 gets an additional year, increasing the % across the board.
Morrow asked for 300,000 more than what the Jays offered. wow, that looks like a long-term deal in the works.
Neimann asked for 500,000 more than the Rays offered. That looks like a 3 year deal in the works.
Lannan asked for 700,000 more than the Nationals offer. That looks like a 2 year deal in the works.
A couple of players are asking for just over 1M extra and the teams will meet in the middle.
The players asking for 2 – 6 M more will likely head to arbitration or settle somewhere in the middle before the hearings. I don’t see any players getting what they asked for, based on their 2011 seasons and 2012 goes to the owners and what they offered.
Normally, I’d agree with a long term deal with the Rays but Neimann might very well be traded so I don’t think we want to lock him up.
Long term deals tend to be for more established players. Guys who give up 5 runs every other start (i.e. Morrow) typically don’t fall into that category.
If I were AA I would hassle on the 300k as well. Dude gave up 103 runs on his own last year.
wow. 3.9-4.2 million to give up 5 runs in half of his starts. He’s asking for 1 million more than Neimann. I know its different because of the base salary…but come on…
google “fip”
FIP? You mean that useless made up pitchers stat that has no bearing on the quality of a pitcher whatsoever?
Lets look at it this way. Morow had a far better FIP, and a disastrously worse ERA than Ricky Romero. They played in front of the exact same defence. Nuff said.
FIP is useless, and without improvement, so is Brandon Morrow.
Just… No.
As usual, everyone loves FIP but no one can defend it.
just saying, but defence can differ greatly every game, and the quality does not even out over the course of the season. Like every stat, FIP has its flaws, but that gives you no right to call it “useless”.
FIP doesn’t even look at the biggest factor to quality pitching (that being hits). Its not a flaw, its a complete defieciency. Looking at a pitchers ability without considering hits is like looking at a car’s ability without considering its horsepower.
1) FIP is not useless. Get a clue. They may have played in front of the same players, but the same defense probably not. I suppose BABIP isn’t meaningful either? You don’t think the 0.242 BABIP is a complete outlier in the career numbers of Romero? League average is .299. He also gave up more HR/FB by 3% and was well above MLB average of 10.6% by yielding HR on 13.4% of his flyballs. If that BABIP ends up at league average or worse, which is his career norm and where Morrow sat last year, then his ERA won’t look so pretty now will it.
Romero’s strength is that he is a GB pitcher, but expecting his BABIP to stay that low when he gives up 57% GB on balls in play is somewhat unrealistic.
I can easily his ERA sit around 4.00 next season. He can’t keep expecting that BABIP to stay in that range. I would also suspect that his obscene LOB% or strand rate can’t keep up that pace either. 79%? Impressive? Yes. Realistic over a 3 year stretch? Hell no
You did 1) but never did any other numbers.
FIP is useless. It doesnt take hits into consideration at all (and hits are the biggest factor to a quality pitcher).
BABIP is an interesting stat, but everyone always lumps it into the luck factor. Morrow throws fastballs up in the zone, Romero tosses changeups in the corners. One yields hard hit balls, one yields softly hit balls. Its not a fluke.
Romero’s 79% LOB% is not surprising. He’s a lefty, keeps guys from stealing, and gets lots of ground balls (less sacrifice fly’s).
He had a career year, no question. Probly wont repeat. But Morrow is a different case. he needs serious improvement, especially in pitch location.
Oh hey, another Toronto baseball fan that doesn’t understand the arbitration system. Haven’t seen enough of those this week. What comparable contract are you basing your valuation of Morrow on, Luke Schenn’s?
The abitration system does this, makes teams pay for potential. No one would pay 4 mil for Morrow if they thought he would pitch like this.
But if you like comparisons Braden just went for 3.35, Masterson went for 3.825….
Some bad pitchers get good money in arbitration, I get that. I am explaining how silly it is.
wow. 3.9-4.2 million to give up 5 runs in half of his starts. He’s asking for 1 million more than Neimann. I know its different because of the base salary…but come on…
$6.5MM arb bid on Kershaw?
I know he’s first year arb, but 40-60-80 rule says he should be paid around what a 2.4 WAR free agent would get. $4,500,000/open market win = $10,800,000. If anything, Kershaw underbid himself, there is no way a sane arbitrator should favor the Dodgers in this case. None. Then again, this is Ned Colletti here, the guy who just gave James Loney another year at $6.375MM. Not awful to pay Loney, but considering this is the same guy who non-tendered Russell Martin w/ no obvious replacement (while Sands appears ready to be a FT starting 1B for a lot less money), I tend to not give benefit of the doubt.
Adam Jones is probably a bit on the nuts side. $5MM sounds exactly like what he should be awarded in arb.
Not to revisit this argument, but Martin didn’t deserve to be tendered a contract. Declining production, lack of focus / dedication, etc.
Pretty sure the Dodgers and Kershaw will settle in the $8.5 million range. The next owner can tack on six years and $120 million to that deal.
Agree on Loney though. Should have been traded / non-tendered. That money could have gone towards Kuroda with either Sands at 1B or a cheaper guy like Derrek Lee.
I would say Kotchman, but either way that makes more sense than giving two year deals to either Capuano or Harang.
It was two year deals or nothing. I thought that was clear to everyone by now.
Declining production, sure, but then to turn around and offer Rod Barajas $3.25MM? Martin made $750K more in 2011, and I don’t think anyone would’ve argued Barajas at his median was worth the $750K savings vs Martin at his. And then of course, the problem at catcher that Colletti created became “solved” by effectively offering one of the better prospects in the Dodger system to the Red Sox for 80 cents on the dollar.
These would be little blunders and forgivable, except Colletti has a history of overvaluing things he “likes”. It’s hard for an outsider to give him the benefit of the doubt, given the history of bizarre moves.
Not to revisit this argument, but Martin didn’t deserve to be tendered a contract. Declining production, lack of focus / dedication, etc.
Pretty sure the Dodgers and Kershaw will settle in the $8.5 million range. The next owner can tack on six years and $120 million to that deal.
Agree on Loney though. Should have been traded / non-tendered. That money could have gone towards Kuroda with either Sands at 1B or a cheaper guy like Derrek Lee.
I am always puzzled by the argument in favor of starting Sands at first. The player has six, count ’em six, major league games at first under his belt. The message we’re getting from management on Sands is that he’s not ready, and based his offensive stats, I’d have to agree.
As for Kershaw’s contract, arbitration claims are not based on WAR (nothing but fantasy leagues are), so you can forget about that. Kershaw’s number is a record for a first or second arbitration year player and will still be a near-record if they split the difference. If the new owners do a buyout and extension the numbers will be huge, bank on that.
Martin, he’d also fractured his hip, so nobody really knew if he could play in 2011. Even so the Dodgers offered him almost the exact same deal he signed with the Yankees. Clearly he no longer want to play in LA. Goodbye.
It would be funny if Guthrie won his case, then took a paycut next year as a free agent.
guthrie better hope they can settle cause he isnt winning that.
guthrie better hope they can settle cause he isnt winning that.
Even though it’s Guthrie’s 3rd year and Kershaw’s 1st, I still find it funny that he asked for more.
You have to realize that when filing for arbitration, the players always ask for more than what they are worth and the team offers less than what they are worth! Most deal will be met in the middle!!
You have to realize that when filing for arbitration, the players always ask for more than what they are worth and the team offers less than what they are worth! Most deal will be met in the middle!!
Nellie Cruz is not getting $7.5m. I dont think he’s even getting the midpoint of $6.5m. Just too many injuries and he’s a .265 guy. He’s had 2 seasons over .300 and his BAbip those two years were .388 and .348. With that said, $5.5m isnt too shabby for him either. So if I’m him I’m throwing an offer around $6.3m and seeing if the Rangers bite. Regardless, it looks like he will post a great benchmark for power-hitting corner OFs.
Ouch. Someone get the nearest Red Sox fan a bottle of Whisky and an olive fork.
Ortiz really trying to milk this thing.
Offer him $14m and call it a day. There’s no way he can walk away from the table. Still gonna cost us Oswalt though which is pathetic
he’s got a really strong case to win. .405 wOBA, easily the best DH in the game, healthy mostly all season, and made 12.5MM last year.
20% raises in arb are common.
They’ll probably settle, but its a rational ask.
Just for fun, the gap between ask and offer by team sorted in descending order by %’s:
Kershaw – 35% (a Dodger at the top…shocker)
Jones – 32%
Morse – 30%
Guthrie – 29%
Cabrera – 28%
Napoli – 28%
Cruz – 27%
Gordon – 24%
Ortiz – 23%
Garza – 22%
Lincecum – 21%
Montero – 21%
Martin – 15%
Lannan – 12%
Morrow – 7%
Didn’t mention Hunter Pence.
Actually Andrew Bailey wasn’t mentioned either and his split is over 40% so he tops kershaw. Nice when people omit what they want to blast the team/player they want.
Just for fun, the gap between ask and offer by team sorted in descending order by %’s:
Kershaw – 35% (a Dodger at the top…shocker)
Jones – 32%
Morse – 30%
Guthrie – 29%
Cabrera – 28%
Napoli – 28%
Cruz – 27%
Gordon – 24%
Ortiz – 23%
Garza – 22%
Lincecum – 21%
Montero – 21%
Martin – 15%
Lannan – 12%
Morrow – 7%
The Dodgers don’t even stand a chance.
Big time Timmy Jim is great and all but I just can’t get behind the idea of a player earning over 20 million a year before even being eligible for free agency.
You remember any arbitration eligible player with 2 Cy Youngs before free agency?
Lincecum is out of his mind if he thinks he’s getting 20 plus as a non-free agent without Boras as his agent. Sorry bro, it’ll happen soon if you keep it up.
Boras doesn’t instantly get his clients more money. He is just an agent known to strongly favor getting his client to FA as soon as possible. His belief is that by doing so you will have more leverage against the team that at any other point in your career. Lincecum’s agent is Beverly Hills Sports Council. While recently dysfunctional, still more then capable of getting him $20m
Barring some unforeseen collapse or horrible injury by the time Tim Lincecum hits free agency he could use a sock puppet as his agent and probably get 20m for at least a few years.
I LOL’ed.
I’ll put bets on Sabean losing the Lincecum case.
wont get to hearing. they”ll agree before. my guess 2yr 40 mil
That to me shouldn’t be worrisome—the real worrisome part is when he reaches free agency if he is still this good (last year he did everything but have a winning record). He’s about as good as Verlander.
He hits free agency after next year.
I wonder how many of those people asking for huge increases they would never get on the open market (like ortiz) even realize any figure possibly awarded isn’t even guaranteed…
Those guys have a brutal spring and all the whining by the MLBPA is not enough to stop, nor defend the team from dumping them and the non guaranteed contract should the team wish to and win a case should the Union try and bring one.
People, such as ortiz and martin had better get their priorities straight.
I’d happily pay $4.2M for Morrow.