The Braves have won their arbitration case over third baseman Austin Riley, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll earn the team’s $3.95MM filing figure in 2022; Riley’s camp had sought a $4.2MM salary.
Riley reached arbitration for the first time over the offseason as a Super Two player. He’ll be eligible three more times before first qualifying for free agency after the 2025 campaign. Arbitration salaries have a compounding effect based off previous years’ numbers, so the result means he’ll be working from a slightly lower baseline in future years than he would’ve had he won the hearing. In either event, the $250K gap in the two sides’ filing figures was minimal; even in the context of future raises, the result is unlikely to have much of an impact on the Braves’ spending habits.
The 25-year-old Riley is coming off a breakout 2021 campaign. After posting below-average numbers in each of his first two seasons, he hit .303/.367/.531 with 33 home runs and 107 runs batted in last year. Arbitration hearings spilled into the regular season because the lockout froze offseason business for more than three months, but the arbitrator’s decision was based off Riley’s 2019-21 body of work.
While it wasn’t relevant for this year’s hearing, Riley has gotten out to an excellent start in 2022. The raw rate stats (.237/.336/.482) look to be a fairly significant downturn relative to his previous numbers, but that’s only before accounting for the overall drop in league offense. By measure of wRC+, Riley’s early-season work has been 33 percentage points above this year’s league average output. That’s virtually identical to the 135 wRC+ he put up in 2021.
Better he is happy than to save a couple bucks.
Good for the Braves to beat somebody, because they certainly aren’t doing it on the field.
They didn’t last year at this time either. And look how that turned out.
@vtncsc Playing mediocre for most of the season and being fortunate enough to be in the division race isn’t exactly something you want to lean on for confidence this year
It would have been nice to see last years finish as a way to confirm they finally were figuring it out but now they’re right back to playing horrible. Makes you think the last two months were the anomaly, not the norm. And this is just who they are.
“DEFEAT!”
The Braves need to sign him long term.
Think the Braves will have a harder time now, especially if they wanted a team friendly extension. That 250K they saved here could cost them. A little good will this season might have gone a long way.
They’ll still sign him.
Learn how arb process works.
BS. Riley deserves 7 million. Braves saved 300k after losing Freeman and that is showing in dugout and clubhouse. Riley team will file that in memory bank.
Then you’re better off without him once you run through his controllable years. This is a business these players know that; most of them aren’t immature children.
Braves have always been a file and trial team. It’s not personal, if he has the same type year in 22 they may reach out for a long term extension.
Swanson won’t get to 10 million he’s asking for and thankfully he won’t be with the braves next year
Bravesfan59: Is Swanson really that bad? He had a decent year last year, or so it seems, & came through a few times in clutch situations. I get that his postseason stats are not good overall too.
If they do move in a different direction, who do you anticipate will fill that role?
Vaughn Grissom would be the replacement in all likelihood.
Probably Braden Shewmake, he’s playing in AAA this year for them and was one of their high draft picks from 2019.
No it isn’t personal. That’s what happens when you’re owned by a public corporation.
No it’s not personal, but that doesn’t mean the player won’t feel dissed. The team does their best to prove why a player isn’t worth what he’s asking for. That’s gotta hurt.
Maybe to a simpleton like you. But not to a professional.
That sounds like a personal problem.
@vtncsc: Plenty of baseball players have said the Arbitration process was stressful, and that it colored their view of their team. But you can be an ahole if you want to.
Dude got MVP votes. Bonkers
Not that it’s going to happen, but with in season arbitration hearings this year, what would happen if a team released a player before their hearing? I assume if another team claims them they’d go to arbitration with that team. I suppose when they are tendered a contract, even with arbitration, it’s guaranteed even if they aren’t with the team or like if they’re optioned.
Good. These guys strike out too much and don’t deserve more money.
I agree. The shareholders should get his money. They never strike out.
This might be one of the worst takes I’ve seen in a while.
Terrible take. Are you just being sarcastic?
Sarcasm?
Ah the Braves finally defeated someone because they arent defeating teams on the field.
STEEL CAGE MATCH!!!
The Braves are burying money in the backyard they’ve got so much … bad look over $250K.
I mean I would think if anyone should win arbitration hearings it would be guys finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting. Kind of whack
Maybe he should have submitted a salary more in line with precedent, or got a better advocate.
*WORLD CHAMPIONS
Why the continuous references to the Dodgers?????
You mean the team that has failed to reach the World Series as a 106-win team twice in the last three years? They can’t win a title without playing a ridiculously shortened schedule in empty stadiums.
who won in 2020 then?
@DarkSide830
No one is denying that the Dodgers won in the fake 2020 season. Note the “ridiculously shortened schedule in empty stadiums.” Also, even if you want to consider the fake 2020 season equal to an actual season, 2021 is still more recent.
The media and the very rich.
The Dodgers haven’t been “world champions” in over 30 years…
yet. they keep making money and competing
Hope Austin has a short memory , the Dodgers will be looking for a third baseman by 2025 !
High fives and “HOOOOO RAHHHH!!!!s” all around the front office.
Instead of keeping a guy like that happy, They actually went to arbitration with him over 300K?
Players aren’t children and understand it’s a business. Well, Acuna is a giant manchild but that’s not the point. If Riley is going to hold a grudge over less than 300k then the Braves are better just riding out his arb years and letting some other team pay for his decline years in FA.