The Opener: Pitchers & Catchers, Arraez, Arbitration Decisions

Baseball is back! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world as Spring Training commences:

1. Pitchers and catchers begin reporting:

Spring Training is officially getting underway today… for a handful of teams, at least. As noted by MLB.com, the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Rangers, and Giants have their first workout for pitchers and catchers today in Arizona’s Cactus League. Meanwhile, over in Florida, the Grapefruit League’s workouts kick off with the Braves and Red Sox. Boston (Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray), Texas (MacKenzie Gore, Danny Jansen), and San Francisco (Adrian Houser, Tyler Mahle) all figure to have some exciting new faces around camp today, while the White Sox (Erick Fedde) and Diamondbacks (Merrill Kelly) will welcome back old friends who re-signed over the offseason. The opening of camp typically reveals some news of offseason injuries, and it’s common for a handful off free agents to pop up in camp with clubs after finalizing a late agreement. There ought to be plenty of news throughout the week as players continue to report.

2. Arraez deal to be made official:

Luis Arraez’s one-year deal with the Giants has yet to be made official. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, that delay is so that Arraez can get his physical with the club at their Spring Training facilities, thereby streamlining the process. Slusser adds that Arraez’s signing figures to be made official today. San Francisco’s 40-man roster is full at the moment, meaning that a corresponding transaction will need to be announced alongside the Arraez deal. That could be a minor trade or a player being designated for assignment, but with the start of Spring Training it’s possible the club could simply look to put a player like Randy Rodriguez or Jason Foley on the 60-day injured list. Rodriguez underwent Tommy John surgery last September. Foley had shoulder surgery last May.

3. Arbitration decisions to be handed down:

The Associated Press reports that a arbitration results from two hearings should be expected today: catcher Tyler Stephenson (who filed at $6.8MM) and the Reds (who filed at $6.55MM) as well as southpaw Reid Detmers (who filed at $2.925MM) and the Angels (who filed at $2.625MM). Players have won the majority of cases so far, with Orioles lefty Keegan Akin taking the only arbitration loss of the year to this point. Lefties Dylan Lee of the Braves and Eric Lauer of the Blue Jays have already been to hearings but are having their decisions withheld until later this week. Royals southpaw Kris Bubic, Brewers catcher William Contreras, and Marlins righty Calvin Faucher all have hearings scheduled for the future to round out this year’s slate of arbitration cases.