Marlins infielder Emilio Bonifacio had his arbitration hearing today, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Bonifacio asked for $2.2MM, while the Marlins countered with $1.95MM. Arbitrators Steven Wolf, Mark Burstein and Sylvia Skratek heard the case and are expected to reach a decision by tomorrow.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Bonifacio is the Marlins’ lone unsigned arbitration eligible player. Anibal Sanchez won his case against the team last week. The 26-year-old Bonifacio is arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and will remain under team control through 2014. He is a client of Wasserman Media Group.
That is absurd going to arb when you are separated by only 250K. How do you spell cheap again?
the cheapness goes both ways..
but probably not in the best interest to talk down a player over that small of an amount
you spell it reyes, bell, beuhrle, and realize it’s just a part of the game
The Fish have more invested in the litigious holes of the arbitration process than what the pay dispute was over.
Has an arbitrator ever awarded more than a player requested? This kid is one of the main reasons the Marlins didn’t finish with an Astros-esque record last year.
The arbitration panel can not award any amount except the team’s number or the player’s number. Nothing in between and certainly nothing above or below. They simply pick one.
I am going to predict a win for Bonifacio for this one. I believe that the teams are undefeated thus far, so because of self preservation alone, I think the panel throws the player a bone over this nominal sum of money.
The remaining unsigned arb players should just have hearings. They been playing this out wayyyy too long. Punks like Ortiz who should be making $1 million a year in free agency is going to get 17 million in arbitration.