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Arbitration Eligibles: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series. Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.
- First time: Scott Atchison ($800K)
- Second time: Andrew Bailey ($3.9MM), Alfredo Aceves ($2.6MM), Daniel Bard ($1.6MM), Andrew Miller ($1.4MM), Franklin Morales ($1.4MM)
- Third time: Jacoby Ellsbury ($8.1MM), Jarrod Saltalamacchia ($3.9MM), Craig Breslow ($2.4MM), Ryan Sweeney ($1.8MM), Rich Hill ($1.1MM)
Jacoby Ellsbury and many of Boston's relievers will head to arbitration this coming offseason. The Red Sox have a large class of players that includes a number of non-tender candidates.
Relievers Atchison, Hill and Aceves could all be non-tendered. Hill and Atchison dealt with elbow injuries this past season. The health of Atchison's pitching elbow remains in question, and Hill might not be viewed as a $1MM player after spending so much of the 2012 season on the disabled list. Aceves projects to earn $2.6MM thanks to his lofty saves total, but he could also be non-tendered.
Sweeney made three trips to the disabled list last season and didn't hit particularly well when healthy. Depending on what the Red Sox do to address their outfield this month, he could also lose his roster spot.
The remainder of the team's arbitration class includes four relievers in line for modest raises or no raises at all. Bard spent much of the 2012 season in the minor leagues, so his projected salary sits at $1.6MM. Bailey also missed most of the season, which means he projects to earn $3.9MM again. Meanwhile, Breslow should jump from $1.8MM to $2.4MM and Miller should obtain a modest raise to $1.4MM or so.
Ellsbury, Boston's best-paid arbitration eligible player and one of the top earning arb eligible players in MLB, projects to obtain a token raise to $8.1MM. His arbitration case won't be nearly as interesting as it was a year ago, when he obtained a substantial raise. The question remains: will the Red Sox pursue an extension with Ellsbury, settle for a one-year deal, or trade him?
Finally, Saltalamacchia and Morales will see their salaries jump following productive seasons at the MLB level. It's possible another team will be responsible for Saltalamacchia's case, as he appears to be a trade candidate.
If the Red Sox tender contracts to everyone but Atchison, Hill, Aceves and Sweeney, they’ll have committed approximately $22.7MM to seven players for 2013.
Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.
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