While the majority of the 156 players that filed for salary arbitration last week have agreed to terms with their teams, either on a one-year deal for 2016 or on an extension, the cases of more than 20 players remain unresolved. You can track the status of each case using MLBTR’s 2016 Arbitration Tracker, and we’ll keep track of all of today’s smaller deals to avoid arbitration in this post (all referenced projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…
- Center fielder Charlie Blackmon and the Rockies have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Rockies had filed for a $2.7MM salary figure against Blackmon’s number of $3.9MM. That placed the midpoint at $3.3MM, which Blackmon cleared by $200K. The 29-year-old Blackmon is coming off a season in which he slashed .287/.347/.450 with 17 home runs and 43 stolen bases in 157 games/682 plate appearances. That served as a strong followup to a breakout 2014 campaign and cemented Blackmon as fixture in the Colorado outfield (though his name has come up in trade speculation this winter).
Earlier Updates
- The Rangers announced that they’ve signed closer Shawn Tolleson to a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the right-hander will earn $3.275MM next season. Tolleson, 28, broke out as a setup man with the Rangers in 2014 and seized the keys to the ninth inning from Neftali Feliz early this season. It was a seamless transition from the seventh/eighth inning to the ninth inning for Tolleson, who worked to a strong 2.99 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate in 72 1/3 innings. Tolleson racked up the first 35 saves of his career along the way, cementing himself at the back of the Texas bullpen. Tolleson had filed for a $3.9MM salary, while the team countered at $2.6MM. The eventual landing spot agreed upon is $25K higher than the $3.25MM midpoint between those two figures and comes in considerably north of the $2.6MM projected by Swartz’s model. With Tolleson’s case settled, the Rangers have just Jake Diekman and Mitch Moreland remaining as unresolved arbitration cases, as can be seen in the tracker linked to above.
Nice. So the Angels can fit Blackmon under the Luxury Tax with nearly any trade. Get ‘er done!
Wondering where the sticking point is in a potential Angels/Rockies deal is. Rockies demanding Heaney?
And/or Skaggs
Definitely “and” and not “or”.
I wouldn’t give up Heaney straight up for Blackmon. Blackmon is actually terrible away from Coors.
I’d offer Skaggs and Shoemaker.
I wouldn’t give up Skaggs either.
OK, here we go for the 85th time …
Rockies hitters should never be evaluated based on their road numbers. Nearly all Colorado position players over the years have had large home-road splits, and the ones that have since moved on have done fine in their new parks, less well at home but better on road. This is because the transition from hitting in Denver to hitting on the road makes their road numbers worse than they should be, just as much if not more than Coors makes their home numbers better.
I’m not gonna give up Heaney for a maybe.
Cuddyer went from battling title to pinch hitter
Tulo OPS’d ..697
Drew Stubbs went from .233 to .289 back down to below average
Chris Nelson OPS’d .810 in 2012, then couldn’t get a job after he left COL
Tyler Colvin, Jordan Pacheco
Hundley OPS’d .610 2012-2014 then OPS’d .810 his first year in Colorado
Even Seth Smith’s numbers took a slight dip.
Over the last 5 years. the only player I see that replicated his Coors numbers after leaving COL is Fowler.
^ lol
Cuddyer was hurt. Tulo was an extreme short sample. The rest of them stunk anyway and just had a fluke season with the Rockies (as can happen anywhere). You’re just cherry picking. I notice Matt Holliday isn’t on your list anywhere. Or Chris Iannetta, who beat his career average every year in LAA except last year. And Seth Smith beat his carer average (and had his 2nd best year ever) since leaving the Rockies. Hundley’s best year was as a Padre.
to ignore the obvious great advantage for an offensive player in denver is just as naive as the terrible disadvantage it gives pitchers. . tulo was hitting very well this year until he was traded to toronto.