Mookie Betts has won his arbitration case over the Red Sox and will earn $10.5MM in 2018, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Sox had countered Betts’ figure with an offer of $7.5MM in Betts’ first year of arbitration eligibility. The hearing between the two sides took place yesterday, as reported by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Betts is represented by the Legacy Agency.
Betts’ $10.5MM is the second-highest salary ever given to a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility, behind the $10.85MM deal the Cubs reached with Kris Bryant earlier this month to avoid the arb process altogether. The number considerably surpassed the $8.2MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Betts would earn this winter. In an Arbitration Breakdown piece, Swartz actually felt that his projection model placed Betts too high, with the caveat that Betts’ blend of power and speed made him a rather difficult player to judge overall.
Needless to say, the arbitration panel’s decision is a huge victory for Betts and a win for players in general given its potential as a long-term precedent. Ryan Howard’s $10MM stood for years as the record for a first-year arb-eligible player, and now both Bryant and Betts have surpassed that number in a matter of weeks — future superstar-level players could now go into their arbitration years with a solid argument for earning an eight-figure salary.
Betts has been nothing short of outstanding since debuting in 2014, hitting .292/.351/.488 over his 2309 career plate appearances. With 78 homers, 80 steals (out of 96 chances), and an outstanding right field glove, Betts is one of the game’s best all-around talents. After finishing second in MVP voting in 2016, Betts’ performance took a minor step back last year (.264/.344/.459) due in part to a thumb injury that bothered him for much of the season.
The $10.5MM now puts Betts in line to receive even more in his remaining two seasons of arbitration eligibility before hitting the free agent market after the 2020 season. There hasn’t been much talk of an extension between Betts and the Red Sox, with Betts interestingly noting last winter that he would prefer to take a year-to-year approach. Betts is already making good money from endorsement deals and now has this $10.5MM payday guaranteed, so his stance on a long-term contract might not change, though of course that would depend on what the Sox would be willing to bring to the table to lock up the young star.
As per the MLB Trade Rumors ArbTracker, 24 players still have unsettled contracts that could go to arbitration hearings unless an agreement is reached beforehand. It seems likely that this offseason will surpass last winter’s total of 15 arbitration hearings, especially given how many teams have adopted a “file-or-trial” policy that precludes any further negotiation after the filing deadline.
Good
Actually, not good at all. Going to arbitration with a player is not a very good experience for the player and his relationship with the club. To the extent that he is valued by the Red Sox, then they should have worked something out (particularly seeing that arbitration cited heavily with the player). So, in short, the club got this one very wrong. A poor job by the front office.
* sided
Bad. This is only the second time since 2002 that the Sox have gone this far in arbitration with a player, let alone a young star player. Theo would never pull this stuff so this is another black mark in Dombo’s reign in a big time market.
Ridiculous comment. It is a business and this ruling is very inflationary
Shame it needed to go to arb — he’s the future face of the franchise — give the man what he wants 🙂
The problem is that this one defines the remaining arbitrations
That’s probably why the Red Sox went to the hearing
Yup
Bad idea
Either way you look at it
By his 6th yr the Redsox will be looking for another right fielder. The NYY will prolly sign like they signed the last 2.
And how did that work out….
no thanks, we have some dude named judge and another one named stanton.
Yeah…the Sox have old Mookie and The Youngin Judge is in the Bronx
Judge is older than Betts…
Pedroia said award him the money or I’m gonna cry on Peters note pad.
Yeah, yanks are set at the corners for a while. Elevate your hate! Makes the rivalry more fun 😉
Not saying that Betts will end up on the Yanks….and hopefully not. But Betts came into the MLB as a CF and won a GG there. Elevate your knowledge!
Betts never won a GG in center. Two in right.
Betts has two Gold Gloves. Both came in RF.
Keep elevating, buddy.
Betts rookie year he played CF-27 RF-12 and 2B-14, Moved to RF permanently in 2016. In the minors he played SS 2B OF.
Moo lie runs rings around the NYY outfield. That’s why the NYY will offer him a huge contract, like they with Ellsbury n Damon.
Good job Mookie
This is good, hopefully the Sox can sign him long term, they need him. If Mookie has lost this I could see it being a wedge that could hinder a future deal. Need to lock him up long term
What’s the difference between him losing or winning? He still heard their arguments as to why he wasn’t worth this salary.
There’s another point of view. Assuming both parties (Mookie and the Sox) acted in good faith, they both presented cogent argument for their valuation. The point isn’t to go in there and smear the guy so he doesn’t make bank.
This particular case is important for setting the tone for the rest of the cases. Both parties had an interest beyond their own wallets because it has ramifications now and in the future.
yes, except the Sox argument is that Mookie doesn’t deserve that salary. Kinda hard not to take it personal when someone tells you that you are not nearly as good as you think you are. I think this will actually make it harder to sign a multi year deal
And you know the particulars of the Sox argument how?
You don’t need to know the particulars to understand how it happened. They thought he was worth 3 million less. That’s a large gap in communication.
Mookie is one of my favorite players on the Sox.
I just feel he played alittle over his head in the HR category in 16′. Now he’s reaping the benefits from that year alone and it showed with this payday in arbitration.
I truly believe all his other numbers were about right in 16′ and are exaclty what he could put up year in and year out from now on.
I definitely don’t see him hitting .264 this year, not by a long shot.
This gives Trader Dave the ammunition to get John Henry to approve trading Betts now.
Gah I hope not. I’d rather take the 5 yr 100/125mm and point some of it at Betts & Beni than signing JDM. I think trading Betts would be one heck of a bad idea
Smart comment as usual.
If he hits 264 again sure let him walk. Even to the Yankees.
ignore that beefy OBP though and terrific D. i like it.
7.5M did seem very low for Betts. Good for him
Not too surprising. He had the counting stats for sure, plus two placements in the top 6 of MVP voting. Curious to see how this affects any future contract negotiations between the two.
PAY MOOKIE
Of course he won.
Bosox better make amends otherwise he’s a goner.
First person to see it this way. This is a huge loss for the sox going forward in negotiations with him.
This will definitely make it hard for the Sox to ask for a hometown discount when Betts approaches free agency, but other than that most players are professionals and understand that the things being said are a business maneuver and not a personal attack on the player. The Red Sox showed him good will last year. I highly doubt Betts took this personally.
The good will was lost on Mookie as he refused to sign the offer sheet. There will be no hometown discount, never mind that Boston is not even Mookie’s hometown – that would be Nashville
He has every right to go to arbitration. Every player earns that right. Has nothing to do with the good will offered. Betts felt he deserved more and clearly an arbitrator agreed so it’s the right decision.
And hometown in regards to free agency refers to the system you came from. Dustin Pedroia for example accepted a hometown discount but he’s not from Boston. He’s from Cali. Players who come up through the system are known as home grown. It doesn’t mean it’s their home. Kinda common sense there.
The point is yes there’s some risk for the team to not just give him what he wants but that sets a poor precedent of a pushover front office. This was probably the best decision on all sides. The Sox gave him a lot more than they had to last year. This time they chose to stand their ground.
Now that Betts is worth more than Boston wanted to pay him, why would anyone think they would now present him with a multi year contract, based off that inflated figure? And with Betts winning, why would he settle now? I see Boston more likely to add a bat now because the window starts to close when Betts leaves as a FA.
Good.
Accolades are bs. Ryan Howard has the record until this year and that was a 10 year old case, so the market cost of a player should reflect with the growth of the product as a whole(mlb value). Keep the piece of the pie the same %age even if the pie is getting bigger.
Happy to see this. I’d rather that talented players get paid at the height of their abilities to contribute rather than waiting for the big payday at a point where it rarely delivers value on the contract.
Now he will be paid exponentially going forward. Yey Red Sox
Pay the man his Money!!
He deserves it but surprised he won. Dombrowski is usually pretty close to the mark on arb offers. Good for Mookie..
This is the other side of the coin re: this year’s free agent market…old players are going to be paid less, young players are going to be paid more. I think there will eventually be some sort of restructuring around how soon a player can hit free agency some time in the future.
Over $10m coming off a .803 ops is shocking. I also don’t get how the his career .839 ops is “outstanding” as the post says, it wouldn’t have even sniffed top ten this year, probably not even top 25. And I get combining it with his defense and basepaths work makes him an outstanding player but the slash line itself really isn’t..
He had a down year of sorts but is a terrific player. This is coming from a Yankee fan
that $10 million is based off his career work to date. he’s been the second most valuable OF and eighth most valuable player in MLB since debuting in 2014, he’s earned every penny of that money
I hope they can avoid having to go back to arb and sign a long-term extension this season. I would love to see Mookie be a lifer.
DD only wants a player if he can trade top prospects for him. Betts is a goner…yankees win just because DD runs the Sox
Its not even spring training yet Yanks haven’t won anything last time i checked.
He’s just talking about the fact an amazing player may traded. Not the series.
Still a bargain but that’s what Boston gets for trying to penny pinch with a great player. I know it’s part of the arbitration process but there was no way Boston was going to win the case agaIsn’t Betts
Are you the arbiter? If not, how did you know there was no way Betts would lose? I’m a Red Sox fan and I love Mookie. But I honestly think it’s getting to the point that we’re overrating him and should consider trading him if we got the right offer. All of his power is pull power – he has only 1 career home run to right field (320ish feet wrapping around the pesky pole at Fenway). Don’t throw him a fastball inside and there’s really not much he can do at the plate
Perhaps you’re even more overrated as a Red Sox fan. Did you read above where the article states Betts was injured during the 2017 season? All his value is in hitting home runs? With his talent (your lack of reason notwithstanding), can you not conjure a scenario where he makes adjustments and continues to learn as a hitter? The man had one slightly below-par (SSS) season, and you think the Sox should consider trading him. You must wear a pink hat.
Not at all, I think just he cares more about himself than the team
A lot of posters on here are suppose to be superfans yet they have zero idea on how arb works.
Every single year there’s high profile guys who go to arbitration and every single year people hear ask why haggle over that amount of money. This is nothing new.
To everyone saying this is bad policy because it means Mookie “heard arguments as to why he’s worth less than he thinks,” can you please explain your line of thinking? While I understand this may be what happens during an arbitration, I also think that players (and agents) are prepared for this, and they can think bigger than some silly closed door argument in front of a judge. (If the Red Sox argument leaked out, that’s a different story.) I’m not saying *no one* has ever held a grudge after arbitration, and I’m not saying there probably haven’t been some very nasty arbitration hearings, but you have to consider that the Red Sox management presented an argument that says he’s worth $7.5M because of free agent comps (or other arbitration settlements).
Realistically, going to arbitration didn’t hurt the Sox. They took a calculated guess and it fell against them. They weren’t going to get under the luxury tax even at the lower number, and don’t have to worry about this year’s salary really impacting next year. If he’s at $10M this year, that’s only a small component of the Arb2 case for next year. Much more will be driven by his performance this year (as well as already set historical numbers).
This is not the place for logic and truth,
Mookie is the heart of redsox nation and our salvation from the disease known as David Ortiz. Pay the man!
Yea all of those terrible wall off home runs in the playoffs thank god we don’t get to see that anymore…
Mookie really looked like a leader when he botched that ball in RF in game 1 of the playoffs and his offense has been even worse
Disease? What are you talking about??? The biggest clutch player of his era and you call him a disease?
There is no way you are a Red Sox fan so either you are a hater or a troll. Save your opinion for a haters forum and you can all enjoy your stupid comments.
Big Papi was Big Juicin’
Evidence? Or are you just another knee-jerk wannabe judge-and-jury one-wimp lynch mob ready to crucify anyone who the masses condemn, also without evidence! I hope people like you never find a jury box – oh, yeah, that’s part of what’s already happened as the U. S. continues its backsliding into fascism.
#pay mookie. He deserves it but if he didn’t win that would probably be racist right?
I’m offended by the name Mookie.
Mookie extremely overrated. Shouldn’t overpay for a fielding first outfielder. Only a good not elite hitter.