The Tigers and right-hander have avoided arbitration with right-hander Casey Mize, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The righty will make $840K this year and there’s a $3.1MM club option for 2025. Even if that option were to be turned down, he would still be under club control via arbitration. It will be a salary of $830K and a $10K buyout on the option, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Tigers have now announced these details.
Mize, 27 in May, spent all of 2023 on the injured list after undergoing both Tommy John surgery and back surgery in the summer of 2022. Players on the major league injured list continue to accrue service time, so Mize was able to qualify for arbitration this offseason. Since he had missed so much time, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Mize for a modest raise to $1.2MM, not too far from the $740K minimum salary in the upcoming campaign.
The arbitration filing deadline was last week and it passed without an agreement between Mize and the Tigers, with an absurdly small gap between the two sides. The righty filed at $840K and the club at $815K. Clubs and players are allowed to continue negotiating and reach a settlement after filing, but many clubs deploy a “file and trial” strategy. This means that, for negotiating purposes, they won’t talk to players after the filing deadline except for a multi-year pact.
The Tigers are one such “file and trial” club but found themselves in a bit of an awkward situation after last week’s deadline. Going to a hearing over $25K is a bad look for public relations purposes and likely a significant waste of resources, when considering the time needed for staff to prepare for a hearing. But they also probably had little interest in locking up Mize on a long-term deal due to his struggles, both in terms of results and health. In the end, they have wriggled out of the jam by agreeing to this option structure, which gets Mize’s guarantee up to his filing figure without the Tigers committing any real future dollars.
The 2024 season could be significant for Mize. A former first-overall pick, he has posted middling results thus far in his big league career. He has thrown 188 2/3 innings with a 4.29 earned run average, 18.7% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate. After pitching just 10 innings in 2022 and none at all last year, he may face workload limitations.
The club signed Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty this winter to join a rotation mix that should be fronted by Tarik Skubal and also includes Matt Manning, Reese Olson, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Wilmer Flores and others. Mize has a full slate of options if he’s not able to secure a rotation job and/or the club wants to monitor his workload. He can be controlled via arbitration two more times before he’s set to become a free agent after 2026, though optional assignments could impact that trajectory.
22 players were set to go to hearings but this deal reduces that number to 21.
I don’t get this from Mize’s point of view.
Totally agree. Hopefully the rest of the article will clear some of that up?
The writing is kind of clunky, because of mentioning an MLBTR projection that was higher than Mize’s asking price. He asked for $840k and gets it. In exchange, he gives Detroit a club option on year 2. If he has a phenomenal season next year, it probably saves Detroit a few bucks. If not, option declined and they go back to arbitration.
What is not to get, $3.1M for next year instead of arguing over $25k this year. If he has a good year the Tigers will pick up that option rather than risking another arbitration case. That $3.1M is probably more than he could get in arbitration even with a good year. But close enough that likely won’t be worth the Tigers declining the option and risking a higher award in arbitration.
He’s gambling on himself. I like it.
He’s not gambling on himself at all. In fact, he’s doing the opposite.
I guess he figures he can’t possibly top $3.1M in 2025 no matter what he does this year?
My guess is he probably wouldn’t. For comparison sake, Skubal will earn $2.65 MM this year after pitching 80 innings in 2023 and proving to be completely healed. It may take a while before Mize is pitching like he was pre-TJ and he’s going to have his innings limited this season. This is essentially a way of giving Mize what he asked for while possibly saving a little money on the back end should he surprise everybody and return to form quicker.
The question is what form? If it’s his previous form, he’s not worth $3.1 million. He’s gotta show Skubal form..
You’re right about that. Skubal was arguably the best pitcher in the MLB for the second half of the season and still is only making $2.65MM in 2024.
I wonder if they will try to sign Skubal to a long term contract this year? I’d hate it if they traded him, even if they got back a boatload of good young prospects.
I don’t see Tarik Skubal signing a contract extension because Scott Boras is his agent.
Hopefully he is one of those players that wants to be in Detroit. If not they can get a haul for him when the time comes… unless he gets hurt like Fulmer did and that window passes. Out of all their pitchers he’s the one they need to keep long term.
10K buyout or 100K? 10K sounds pretty low.
$10K buyout?!? He asked for $840K, team countered with $815K. They sure got their ‘pound of flesh’ by having that $10K be a contingency — ridiculous optics on this one, Tigers…..
If Tigers were ro buy him out another team would grab him instantly, barring him going full Wander Franco.
Doesn’t work that way.
Why is it bad optics for DET? Mize got what he asked for plus the opportunity to avoid arbitration next year if he pitches anything close to average for half a season. I’d say it’s a win-win for Mize and DET. I think it’s also a good precedent for struggling youngsters with solid pedigrees.
It gets him a hair above his filing, and if he blows the doors off the roof in 2024, it limits his max in 2025. Both sides save face.
Tigers look pretty cheap. Not exactly Jokeland A’s cheap but fairly close.
How do they look cheap?? They gave him exactly what he asked for.
$10K less on the buyout. C’mon!
The buyout is irrelevant, he’s not going anywhere. It is likely some type of formality that they included for whatever reason.
If they don’t pick up the option he gets the buyout, and his $840K asking price, and they go to arbitration where he gets paid more than $840K and less than $3.1M. There is nothing cheap about it. The Tigers are the ones that want the option, which is why it is a club option. The negotiation was probably around the size of the option, not the buyout.
Tigers3232 is bang on. Not sure what the basis for your comment is Old York.
Holy Damn:
1. Skubal
2.Maeda
3.Mize
4.Flaherty
5.Manning
6.Olson
7. Sawyer
Top 5 in mlb
Now, we need a little hitting, or we’ll be losing a lot of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 games
I think the hitting will be a pleasant surprise. With Cabrera gone, we should get more production from the DH spot. And maybe Javy actually got his stuff together this off season. And, I do think production from outfielders will also increase.
Plus 2B with Keith there. I can’t see Rogers replicating his stats from last year but maybe between the two catchers it will even put. 3B is a question mark.
I can see Jake replicating 2023; maybe even doing better. I think his HR/AB rate will come down, but I think his BA will go up. So, I think it’ll be pretty similar.
Jake needs to cut down his strikeouts…
At 1100 bucks a seat for the Lions games Ilitch just gave his seats to Mize and they called it even.
Insane what tickets are going for. If I still had my season tickets, they’d be sold and I’d be watching from home.
The laws of supply and demand at work. Since the Lions haven’t been to the playoffs in 30 years AND the fact that Ford Field is the 3rd smallest NFL venue, prices are definitely at a premium due to high demand and scarce supply.
It makes perfect sense! He has no idea after 2 years if he can actually pitch & pitch effectively
Not it at all. The Tigers wouldn’t negotiate a club option if they didn’t think he could pitch, they’d simply give him is $840K and wait for next year. Both sides believe he’ll pitch better than 2021. The Tigers have an option that limits their cost if he has a breakout season. MIze’s agent negotiated an option amount that will be good for Mize for anything short of a Cy Young season.
I never believed this guy was a first overall pick. I liked Singer better but he hasn’t lit the world on fire either.
@notagain, what made you believe he was not a first overall pick?? His stats and his pitching in general were amazing at Auburn. So what is it that you know that nobody else does??
In today’s game these players are scouted from an early age. Mize was a relative unknown until late in college career. The other thing you have to be careful of when evaluating players is a trick pitch like a splitter will only take you so far. If you lack command, as you get to the higher levels they will spit on those pitches and eliminate it in their offensive approach. That is my reasoning.
So he was pretty well known coming out of HS, that’s why he ended up at a school with a great baseball program(Auburn). After hi Sophmore season he played for US Collegiate National Team.
So basically what you said is absolutely false. But nice try!! 🙂
Pitchers are always a gamble but he looked real sharp during his draft year and was developing nicely before the injury. Strasburg was great for years…until he got injured and wasn’t.
Michael Fulmer
Brad Fulmer
Reasonable way to settle this. Mize gets close to what he wanted, and will get what he wanted if the Tigers decline his option. He gets a club option for the following year at a salary that is probably better than he would get in arbitration but close enough that the Tigers wouldn’t risk taking him to arbitration next year. Tigers get this put to bed and get some measure of cost certainty next year and an out if Mize stinks up the joint.
The optics are not bad like some fans suggest. They again avoid arbitration which they have been pretty good at doing over the years. They are not being cheap as others also suggest. This was a good business decision on both sides.
Can we even call 25 grand arbitration? Just cut for high card.
In a pro sports context, Chris Ilitch has Donald Sterling’s sense for the high value of a nickel.
Its disturbing on both sides that they couldn’t settle before exchanging figures. That they were so close indicates that both sides should feel they got a fair shake.
We have no idea how close they were on the amount for the option year since that wasn’t reported. That was why they didn’t agree and presumably what they finally agreed upon. It obviously wasn’t about the $25K difference. Neither side has the time to waste taking that to arbitration.
No surprise the case got settled, despite MLBTR’s constant whines about “file and trial.” I must have read that phrase literally hundreds of times on the site. Can we at least get a new phrase, guys? Or just find something else to complain about.
A 25 grand difference was easy to put to bed. Mize will get $3.1 million in 2025 if he pitches at all well this year, which is probably better than what he would have gotten in arbitration after 2024.
By the way, another case I expect to settle with a multi-year deal is the Rangers and Garcia. The Rangers don’t do arbitration hearings, haven’t been to one since 2000. So I look for a two or three-year deal with the outfielder. And MLBTR will get the phrase “file and trial” into the story (wink).
Hopefully Mize is all the way back and can fill the number two spot by the end of the year. His stats were trending that way before he got hurt. If him or Flaherty can find their magic this year and be the number two starter the Tigers could be in business. I think they are going to have a good year.
It’s a 2 year/$4M deal the Tigers can dump 3/4 of the $ on if they trade him.
He will either make 5 starts all year or be in the Cy Young discussion. Nothing in between. Dude’s stuff is filthy…. when healthy.
I guess nobody thinks arbitration process experience is worth anything? While the cost of going to arbitration in this case probably wipes out any potential savings from the club perspective, having the team get arbitration experience certainly isn’t of no value.
Ask anybody in a legal profession the value of experience and they’ll make it clear how valuable it is. Experience is the difference between a $100/hr attorney and a $600/hr attorney.
The Tigers had zero want or desire to go to arbitration with Mize. There was an article recently in the Detroit News that converted this situation in detail. It basically was just a timing issue and the 2 side cleared it up. They are on good terms and are preparing for Mize to (hopefully) have a breakout season. Here’s to Casey busting out this season and being the ace they thought they were getting when they drafted him!
Win-win