10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll update them in this post throughout the day in advance of the 11pm central time deadline. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.
Updated team decisions:
- The Blue Jays offered arbitration to Frank Francisco (B), Kelly Johnson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), Jose Molina (B) and Jon Rauch (B), according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). They declined to offer Shawn Camp (B) arbitration.
- The Red Sox announced that they offered David Ortiz (A) and Dan Wheeler (B) arbitration. They declined to offer Jason Varitek (B) arbitration. Jonathan Papelbon (A) already signed with the Phillies.
- The Yankees offered Freddy Garcia (B) arbitration according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter).
- The Royals offered Bruce Chen (B) arbitration, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- The White Sox announced they've offered arbitration to Mark Buehrle (B) and not Juan Pierre (B).
- The Athletics announced David DeJesus (B) and Josh Willingham (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) were offered arbitration.
- The Rangers announced C.J. Wilson (A) will be offered arbitration. Modified Type B free agent Darren Oliver does not require an offer.
- The Orioles announced they will not offer arbitration to Vladimir Guerrero (B).
- Twins GM Terry Ryan said today on a conference call that he will offer arbitration to Michael Cuddyer (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Jason Kubel (B), and noted that no arbitration offer is necessary for modified Type B free agent Matt Capps.
Teams with decisions still due:
- Tigers: Wilson Betemit (B), Magglio Ordonez (B)
ClimaClub
wow another 6 potential picks for the jays + the tyler beede comp pick. Too bad about the draft bonus cap. Also i would assume the the cap takes into factor how many picks a team has
Mike Lynch
You are making 2 fatal assumptions:
First is that Toronto offers arbitration to all 5 players which is most likely NOT going to happen.
Second, you assume that Toronto will not be re-signing any of the players. You only get comp picks if you offer arbitration and it is declined and the player signs with a new team.
As far as the signing bonus cap goes, yes it takes into account the number and position of all of a teams draft picks in the 1st 10 rounds.
ClimaClub
its fair to assume that since jays value the picks so much they will offer arb, none of those players if accepts they arb will be on a terrible deal. Camp is the only one i can imagine accepting arbitration.
And as for jays resigning the player, the only player i can envision them resigning and potentially losing out on a pick is Johnson, but then again he is worth 2 picks and with his new modified type A status he is probably gonna decline the arbitration offer.
0bsessions
“its fair to assume that since jays value the picks so much they will offer arb, none of those players if accepts they arb will be on a terrible deal.”
Completely untrue, especially with the entire system going up in smoke next year.
Molina will be offered because he came to terms with the Rays and Johnson will be offered because the chance of two picks is worth the risk of him accepting since AA likes him as a player.
The rest, though? All middle relievers making good money. Those three had a combined 2011 salary of $10 million and if they go to arbitration, they’ll get raises. It’s far from a sure thing that AA will want to bring any of them back at that salary, especially considering he won’t be able to turn around and try for picks again next year.
Bluejaysnation
i’m guessing all but Rauch are offered arb
marc8545
Jays are believed to have a handshake deal with Rauch to turn down arbitration, and, there’s also a chance the Jays would like Camp to stick around, so, he’ll probably get an offer as well. Fransisco is the only real wild card in the bunch.
johnsmith4
Doubt Rauch accepts because it means non-guaranteed contract. Jays can simply release him. If they are mean about it, they can wait to do it just before the season starts.
If he can’t get a guaranteed contract, he will at least want one with a team who wants him and one he perceives to be needing his services.
Mike Lynch
While you are correct that FA Arbitration contracts are technically non-guaranteed, it appears that the player can only be released during spring training for substandard performance which means that they are virtually guaranteed. Also the player would get 30-45 days termination pay depending on when he got released.
mnrunleft
Doubtful Rauch gets a multi year offer from a team so unless his agent is confident he can get a raise elsewhere he’d be foolish to turn down arb and the raise he’d get with it.
Howard
I’m thinking the Twins will want to sign him to a 1 year deal since they need bullpen help with Nathan gone now.
Tammy Rainey
good thought Howard.
Looks like we have our answer – Jays are +5 on picks assuming none return to the team, or seven picks in all before the first pick of the second round.
If i’m counting correctly, there would be (if every FA due compensation changed teams – which they won’t) 80 picks off the board before the start of the “second” round.
By the way, i know what a “modified Type A” is (the new pick as compensation instead of the signing teams pick)
But what is the deal with the “Modified Type B” players who were previously listed as type A (like Matt Capps) – does this mean the team only get one pick for them or what?
Howard
If Capps leaves the Twins it will cost the Twins a pick but not the team that signs him now that he’s a type-B.
Shane Heathers
Picks after the 10th round will be eligible for 100,000 dollar bonuses. Any bonus money beyond 100,000 dollars per player (drafted tenth round or later will) will count against each teams alloted “slot cap”.
funkytime
Zero chance Magglio is offered arbitration. Betemit is more likely, but still probably not.
Patrick OKennedy
The only way Magglio is offered is if there’s a handshake deal in place for him to decline. Betemit should be offered, since he’s probably the best offensive option at 3B on the free agent market after A Ram, but the Tigers probably won’t offer. The compensation game has never been DD’s strong suit.
funkytime
Like I said, zero chance. Dumbrowski didn’t even offer Magglio arbitration last year, when he was coming off a good year and they wanted him back.
You’re right though, the Tigers hardly ever offer arbitration. They either resign a guy or let them walk. Didn’t even offer arbitration to Polanco.
JacksTigers
Martinez was a win.
Betemit, for the price, was a win.
Young was a win.
Fister was a win.
Peralta was a win.
Maggs was a win.
Pudge was a win.
Drafting Verlander instead of Drew was a win.
Drafting Avila despite his father advising against it was a win.
Drafting Turner and Castellanos looks to be wins.
Trading Granderson for AJax, Scherezer, Coke, and Schlereth was a win for everyone.
Sean Casey was a win.
Polanco was a win.
The Cabrera deal in ’07 was was huge win.
He drafts great, signs solid free agents, and trades for talent. So why do you call him DUMBrowski?
Lunchbox45
his father advised against drafting him??
JacksTigers
He was afraid that it would be considered a nepotistic pick.
notsureifsrs
– it’s way too early to call martinez a win. anybody would have signed him to a 1-year deal; it’s the end of the contract that’s questionable
– it may not have cost much to get him, but nobody wins with delmon young
– how was magglio a win? ~16 WAR over 6 seasons for what, $90M was it? that’s huge money for a player who averaged just over 2.5 WAR per season (an avg MLB regular produces 2). if you take out his one amazing year, it was a total disaster. and then he threw away an extra $10M on him in 2011
– what about sean casey was a win? he was never good for detroit. it wasn’t a big fail by any means, but that doesn’t make it a win
– benoit earned his salary this year, but is signed to a very risky contract
– inge’s extension was a mistake
– he made up for it with a later deal, but lost the first edwin jackson trade with tampa
– kenny rogers signing(s) didn’t work out
– renteria trade was big fail
– carlos guillen’s extension is another big fail
– bonderman extension was a miss
i mean there are a couple other solid moves you didn’t mention, too (e.g. damon, lyon) and overall i think dombrowski’s recent record is clearly positive. he’s had a couple excellent acquisitions and drafted some great talent. so he’s clearly not dumb, but you can’t just list the good things he’s done. there have been plenty of mistakes in there too
airohpue13
Magglio was a win because he was the cleanup hitter for the first tigers team to make a world series in 20+ years. Kenny Rogers was a win because in ’06 he was the all star game starting pitcher and pitched one of the best postseasons in mlb history. That edwin jackson trade was well worth it. Tampa received a .188 BA 3 homers for 3.62 era 13-9 record. You could just as easily say matt joyce made up for it later.
notsureifsrs
that is a pretty creative analysis re: magglio & rogers. i could see saying they weren’t losses if the tigers had won a title, but calling it a win because they made it to the series one year is a stretch for me
i don’t understand your comment on joyce. why would you only count the year of the trade? if that were how we analyzed these things, every star-for-prospect trade in history would be a major loss for the team acquiring prospects. by default, prospects are expected to make up for it later
but like i said, if you take the jackson acquisitions all together, the tigers clearly come out ahead
JacksTigers
A win does not have to be a huge move that worked out to every stat. It has to be one that impacted your team in a solid way.
notsureifsrs
how are you going to measure that? ask a random fan? if a random fan thinks adam dunn had a “solid impact”, was the move a win?
MattCMoore
No comment…
JacksTigers
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Stats are not everything. You tend to get a little to into them. Don’t get me wrong, they are a great way to tell how a player has performed in most cases, but this is not one of them. You had to have seen Magglio play on a regular basis. I think that you just like to disagree with with me. You reply to my comments a lot and have never agreed with them. Whatever.
RationalSportsFan
Even if you watched a guy play every day, stats let you know what you forgot, failed to focus on, and/or missed initially.
notsureifsrs
if you ignored stats entirely and just went with your gut i could respect that, but you don’t. you use them [only] when it’s convenient
i don’t think you’re doing it on purpose necessarily, but i’ve never seen you say for example “huh, i guess i was wrong about that” after seeing the numbers. whatever your opinion is, stats are ok if they support it but “don’t tell the whole story” if they contradict it
i’m forced to admit i was wrong all the time in the face of the numbers because i acknowledge that the objective data is more reliable than my experience, no matter how many games i watch. the same holds true for you and everyone else. our memories are limited and our biases are unavoidable
either way, though, i just did agree with you about dombrowski – just not about every specific move
funkytime
Wow … you clearly know very little about the Tigers.
Every single Tigers fan knows that the Magglio, Kenny Rogers, and Martinez signings were major wins for the franchise. Magglio came in at a time when the Tigers were desperate for talent, Kenny Rogers played a huge leadership role on a very young staff and lead us to the world series in 2006, and V-Mart filled a major leadership void our team had.
You also failed to mention the two worst moves of DD’s career: the huge extensions to Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson.
If you must go off on these long rants about how someone else is wrong and you’re right, at least stick to what you know.
JacksTigers
Like I said, he will do anything to try and make me look stupid. I called him a hypocrite once and he has held a grudge ever since. He is obsessed with this site and is trying to be the dictator of the comment section. That is why he has over 10,000 comments and a small following that will like any of his comments no matter what he says.
notsureifsrs
“he posts from area 51 too, i heard!”
you aren’t that important, kiddo, and neither is the internet. how about a deep breath? it’s a holiday
JacksTigers
Neither are you, kiddo.
notsureifsrs
a rant about how someone else is wrong and i’m right? that’s a creative description
[list i agree with] = cool post bro!
[list i don’t agree with] = rant!
there are two reasons i left out willis & robertson. the first is that i wasn’t making an exhaustive list, just reviewing his and adding a few others from memory. the second is that the post was not intended to smear dombrowski. had you read it, you’d have found my comment agreed with jacktigers conclusion, but disagreed with some of his reasons. these are known as “conversations”. they can be a bit scary for kids that personalize everything
it always impresses me how worked up some of you get when talking about “your” team. there can’t be any casual, reasonable baseball talk; everything’s gotta be a super-srs war of words
funkytime
Ha … it was just a typo. I’m actually a big fan of his. Leyland, not so much …
0bsessions
How does Youk for Verlander strike you?
0bsessions
In answer to your inevitable question: no, I’m not.
KyleB
So you’re not sane?
RationalSportsFan
Betemit should definitely be offered. If he accepts the Tigers get a left-handed bat that can play 3B and 2B (albeit poorly) for 1.5-2mill. If he declines, Tigers get the pick (assuming the extremely likely occurrence of Betemit signing a major league deal).
MattCMoore
He is a switch hitter.
RationalSportsFan
His splits are so extreme he should never be allowed to bat right-handed. He is ideal for the left-handed side of a platoon.
Roy Munson
So How does it work since Papplebon Already Signed? The Sox haven’t offered him Arb but they still get comp picks if they offer him Arb tonight? Is that some sort of administrative move?
funkytime
They’ll offer it and it’ll automatically be declined and they’ll be given the picks.
So the “decision due” is basically the answer to the question, “Do you want two high draft picks for free?”
Roy Munson
Right I get that, But how do they get to offer him Arb after he’s already signed elsewhere. is my actual question
marc8545
They don’t and they don’t have to. Players that sign before the arbitration deadline are assumed to have been offered and rejected arbitration, even if no official offer was made.
chico65
Given how their offseason is going so far, I have complete confidence that they’ll even find a way to screw that up.
Lars Chunks
Hopefully the Red Sox go after Willingham for RF now that he won’t cost them a draft pick.
johnsilver
Hammer is the big winner in the CBA agreement. His 2011 salary, as well as contract length just went up substantially now that he will not get stuck once again in a horrible offensive stadium.
This guy has played in 2 of the worst power places in the league for nearly his entire career and other than a brief stay in a neutral stadium (Washington) should be able to pick a place this time on his own and hope he can stay healthy, plus get a nice, 3/25-30m contract.. All thanks to the new CBA and away from the clutches of Beane and Oakland.
baycommuter
Given his limited range, not sure I’d want him in a big RF like Fenway.
MaineSox
Willingham is barely a left fielder, and you want him manning right field in Fenway? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
johnsilver
think it would be a position change with CC and Hammer. CC in RF and Hammer in LF, even though CC does not have the arm for RF he has the ability to run down balls and could be an adequate overall RF.
MaineSox
Maybe (though that’s not what LarsChunks said), but I would want to make sure that Crawford was okay with it; the ball acts different off the bat going to RF than it does to LF, and where he’s been in LF for over a decade it’s become like an instinct knowing where he needs to go, in RF his instincts wouldn’t be right anymore and he would have to completely re-learn how to react. It’s not just as easy as moving to the other side of the field.
OrangeCards
You’d think the extra 5 million the O’s put in Vlad’s pocket last year would be enough to get a gentleman’s agreement for a draft pick.
Pete 12
Wait, what? Willingham isn’t going to cost a draft pick but is type A?
The A’s 100% would have traded him if they knew they wouldn’t receive any compensation for him.
Mike Lynch
The A’s will still get the same compensation, it’s just the signing team won’t forfeit their 1st round pick.
ukJaysfan
If he’s type A, He won’t cost the signing team a 1st round pick….the pick is assigned as the pick in front of the signing team. I think it applies to 2nd round if 1st round was protected under the old system.
ukJaysfan
I re-read that and it didn’t look clear. If Toronto signed Willingham, and they have pick 17, Oakland gets pick 17, and Toronto moves to 17a.
Pete 12
Ah, thanks for clearing that up, makes more sense now….the more you know!
klassic
Thank you KW for not offering arbitration to Juan Pierre.
hoagiebuchanan
Can someone explain to me how Willingham is a type A and Buerhle isn’t? Seriously, no snarkiness.
RationalSportsFan
Outfielders are treated separately from pitchers when determining Type A, Type B, and below status.
So, Willingham was among the top tier of free agent outfielders, but Buerhle was not among the top tier of free agent pitchers (according to the Elias Ranking system, which is a bit suspect and will no longer be used after this year).
Oscar_Gambles_Hair
You stole my exact avatar.
That’s pretty rookie ball of you there, chump.
Lunchbox45
copyright infringement
rzepczynski
ahahahahahahah no
MaineSox
Cram it scrabble
Lunchbox45
thats just lazy dude, i expect more
Jose_Bautista
You shouldn’t even be talking. I am still made at you!
Lunchbox45
i’ll change it settle down
RationalSportsFan
Ha, sorry. I acknowledge myself as a cheap facsimile of you, the true Oscar Gamble’s Hair.
B. Brian Brittingham
So what happens when a player like Papelbon is signed by new team before the Red Sox made a decision on whether to offer him arbitration? Seems like they should be precluded from doing so as it’s now an impossibility.
RationalSportsFan
They offer and it is automatically rejected. The Phillies knew this going in, so there is no shock here for them.
YanksFanSince78
I wouldn’t mind bringing back Garcia on a 1 year deal below $5 mil. They should also bring Colon back too. And if they sign a big named pitcher then so what? Nothing wrong with heading into ST with extra pitchers. I just hope they don’t stick Hughes in the bullpen.
BluMule
What??? Rauch? Hopefully he does not accept.
cyberboo
Francisco and Johnson were offered and that is a good sign. Molina signed with the Rays, so it was merely a formality, and Rauch probably has a handshake agreement to decline the offer. Fortunately, they have just severed ties with the last remaining hand-grenade pitcher in Camp. All the deadweight is now gone that cost the team more wins than they helped. Good luck Campy in Pittsburgh, Houston, or San Diego, where the NL hitters haven’t seen you before. Don’t sign in the AL, because your frisbee slider was about as predictable as a fan knowing when to go to the concession stand. The Jays will find another vulture win pitcher to take your place. lol.
MaineSox
Has Molina actually signed with the Rays? I know there was something about a week ago saying that a deal was close, but then there was nothing about it after that.
Daniel Bimke
It’s hard for me to disrespect Camp as much as you have, mainly because he had 3 really solid seasons for us before this year. But, it is time to move on.
Howard
I agree. As hard as it is to see him go there is a lot of chances for our young core to step up in his absence. I hope he finds a good home.
verlander
Are we to assume the Tigers didn’t offer arbitration to the Ordoñez or Betemit, then?
Lunchbox45
there better be a handshake agreement with rauch.
johnsilver
Has to be positive vibrations overall among the new management when Tek was not offered arbitration. Nos that Francona is gone and Tek “only” made 2m last year, they might be finally showing him the door for good this time around.. Especially when they even offered Wheeler arbitration and he ws pretty much under performing as well the 1st half of the season.
I see Tek long gone without Francona here as his roster spot protector and not much Beckett can do to stop this, much like Wake’s personal “caddy” Mirabelli when Dougie lost it a few years back and was shown the door.
Patrick OKennedy
Still no announcement from the Tigers?
Garret Craig
I can’t figure out why they would keep this information secret.