Remaining Unsigned Arbitration Eligible Players
The dust appears to be settling from today's arbitration agreement madness. A few more settlements may trickle in, but at the moment our arbitration tracker shows 59 unsigned players spanning 22 teams. Big names include Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, Matt Garza, Clayton Kershaw, and Mike Napoli. These players all exchanged figures with their teams. The deadline was noon central time today.
After figures are exchanged, teams and players often agree at the midpoint. A few teams, however, have traditionally treated the exchange of figures as a deadline, and as a policy go to hearings after that point. If these teams are still using the "file and trial" strategy, we'll see hearings for Jed Lowrie (Astros), Casey Janssen and Brandon Morrow (Blue Jays), Emilio Bonifacio and Anibal Sanchez (Marlins), and John Lannan and Mike Morse (Nationals).
Any of the 50+ players to file are candidates to go to a hearing in February if an agreement cannot be reached. At a hearing, the team and the player's agency each take an hour to defend their salary submission, and an independent three-person panel picks one of the salaries.
Last year, 33 players filed numbers, three went to hearings, nine signed multiyear extensions, and 21 settled within $250K of the midpoint.
Brewers Close To Multiyear Deal With Aoki
The Brewers are "just finalizing things" on a multiyear deal with Norichika Aoki, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Earlier, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy wrote of a consensus at Miller Park that a deal gets done before today's 4pm central time deadline.
The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5MM bid in December. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .292/.358/.360 for the Yakult Swallows last year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.
Phillies Avoid Arbitration With Cole Hamels
2:03pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today talked to Hamels' agent John Boggs, who said, "We thought about just going for it, and filing for a number [of about $17 million], but we thought this was fair. Our sights are now set on free agency. At some point, we'll talk to the Phillies about that.'' Noting the unpredictable nature of free agency, Boggs sang his client's praises and added, "Pitching is something everybody will always be clamoring for. That never changes."
11:15am: The Phillies avoided arbitration with Cole Hamels, agreeing to a $15MM deal with award incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. MLBTR had projected $14MM for the John Boggs & Associates client, who received one of the largest arbitration settlements ever. Three years ago Hamels signed a multiyear deal while leaving his last arbitration year open, and it enabled him to get a $5.5MM raise in his last year before free agency.
Excluding Roger Clemens' free agent arbitration salary, I believe only Prince Fielder's $15.5MM tops Hamels' reward. Tim Lincecum is expected to jump to the top of the list.
Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Geovany Soto
The Cubs avoided arbitration with catcher Geovany Soto by agreeing to a $4.3MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. MLBTR had projected the Wasserman Media Group client for $4MM. The Cubs still have a slew of unsettled cases.
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With James Loney
The Dodgers avoided arbitration with first baseman James Loney on a deal worth $6.375MM plus performance bonuses, according to his agency CAA. Clayton Kershaw is the team's lone remaining arbitration eligible player.
Indians Avoid Arbitration With Masterson, Perez
The Indians avoided arbitration with pitchers Justin Masterson ($3.825MM) and Chris Perez ($4.5MM), tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. For the Indians, Asdrubal Cabrera and Rafael Perez remain.
Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Johnson, Francisco
The Blue Jays announced they've avoided arbitration with second baseman Kelly Johnson for $6.375MM and outfielder Ben Francisco for $1.5375MM. Casey Janssen and Brandon Morrow are the Jays' remaining arbitration eligible players.
Mariners Avoid Arbitration With Jason Vargas
The Mariners avoided arbitration with starter Jason Vargas on a deal worth $4.85MM, announced his agency CAA. The Mariners have signed all of their arbitration eligible players.
Angels Avoid Arbitration With Erick Aybar
The Angels avoided arbitration with shortstop Erick Aybar by signing him to a $5.075MM deal, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas. MLBTR had projected the SFX client for $4.7MM. The Angels have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players.
Aybar will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, but GM Jerry Dipoto told Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times via text message, "We are continuing to work toward an extended contract and definitely desire to keep Erick in an Angels uniform for the long term."
Braves Avoid Arbitration With Jair Jurrjens
The Braves avoided arbitration with starter Jair Jurrjens on a deal worth $5.5MM, MLBTR has learned. the Boras client can earn another $25K each time for reaching 175, 180, 190, 200, 210, and 215 innings. With the deal, the Braves have signed all their arbitration eligible players.