Arbitration Eligibles

Arbitration Eligibles: Chicago White Sox

By Tim Dierkes | August 30, 2010 at 9:38am CDT

A look at the small group of White Sox players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

Second time: John Danks, Carlos Quentin, Tony Pena
Third time: Bobby Jenks

Look for relievers Jenks and Pena to be non-tendered - Jenks because he's already earning $7.5MM, and Pena because he's had a rough year. With J.J. Putz eligible for free agency, the Sox may have to revamp their bullpen again.

Danks, as well as Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, may be willing to buck the extension trend and go to arbitration a second time. Recent compares are scarce, but both could earn $6MM or so. That'd put Danks about $1.5MM up on teammate Gavin Floyd, who will earn $8.5MM for the same slice of his career after signing a four-year deal in March of last year. As of November of '09, Danks hoped to sign long-term with the Sox.

Quentin's .251 career batting average will hurt his arbitration argument, but with a likely 100 home runs and 300 RBIs under his belt he'll have a case for beating the $1.65MM raise earned by Josh Willingham and Luke Scott last winter.

Arbitration Eligibles: Toronto Blue Jays

By Tim Dierkes | August 25, 2010 at 12:04pm CDT

A look at the Blue Jays players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

First time: Fred Lewis, Yunel Escobar, Jesse Litsch, Brandon Morrow
Second time: Shaun Marcum, Casey Janssen, Dewayne Wise, Dustin McGowan
Third time: Edwin Encarnacion, Shawn Camp, Jeremy Accardo, Taylor Buchholz
Fourth time: Jose Bautista, Brian Tallet

Litsch probably won't be cut loose, as his cost shouldn't be too high given the time missed with Tommy John and hip surgery. Wise will be non-tendered. McGowan is a candidate, with another shoulder surgery done in June. Still, he could be retained for a salary similar to this year's $500K. Encarnacion has technically never gone to arbitration, having signed a two-year deal with the Reds. I imagine he'll be cut loose now. Buchholz had Tommy John surgery in June of '09, spent most of the year rehabbing for the Rockies, and was claimed by the Jays in September. The claim implies they'll at least consider tendering him a contract. Tallet and Accardo are too expensive to retain through arbitration.

Lewis, Escobar, Morrow, Marcum, Janssen, Camp, and Bautista will certainly be tendered contracts. Bautista should jump to the $6-8MM range, while everyone else should top a million bucks. There will be some decent, but not spectacular paydays in this mix.

Arbitration Eligibles: Tampa Bay Rays

By Tim Dierkes | August 25, 2010 at 8:50am CDT

A look at the Rays players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

First time: Dan Johnson, Andy Sonnanstine
Second time: Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, J.P. Howell
Third time: Jason Bartlett, Dioner Navarro, Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar (if option is declined)

Johnson could be non-tendered, if the Rays prefer to try to bring him back on a minor league deal. He signed a Major League deal in January, but passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment in March. The Rays may be forced to endure a bullpen makeover for 2011, but non-tendering Cormier still makes sense. Howell is also a candidate to be cut, if the Rays evaluate him in December and don't feel he'll be ready for Spring Training. On the other hand, they could retain Howell with little or no raise.

Navarro, currently toiling at Triple A, figures to be non-tendered. There's a good chance Aybar is let go as well, as the Rays may not find him worth his $2.2MM club option or the amount he'd get through arbitration.

Those cuts could leave Sonnanstine, Garza, Upton, and Bartlett as the players tendered contracts. The Rays may have the pitching depth to trade Sonnanstine and/or Garza, but the asking price for the latter should be considerable. Garza will still be affordable, perhaps at a salary around $6MM.

With Reid Brignac as an option, the Rays could be one of few teams shopping a shortstop in Bartlett. If tendered a contract, Bartlett will make more than $4MM next year despite an unimpressive 2010 season. It's possible the Rays try to extract some value in a deal before the December 12th non-tender deadline. Upton, while not the star hitter we once expected, is worth keeping around. With Carl Crawford expected to leave, the Rays probably can't spare Upton.

Arbitration Eligibles: New York Yankees

By Tim Dierkes | August 24, 2010 at 10:56am CDT

A look at the Yankees players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

First time: Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Dustin Moseley
Second time: Boone Logan
Third time: Sergio Mitre
Fourth time: Chad Gaudin

Hughes and Chamberlain are the team's most interesting cases. Though Joba still has a respectable 3.79 career ERA, his recent work hasn't been great and the time spent in the bullpen has resulted in only 16 career wins. He won't get a massive salary. Hughes will be coming off a strong platform year, but his career numbers are similarly limited. He should fall short of $4MM.

Logan will probably be tendered a contract; it's not too risky and he showed promise against lefties when he was in the bigs. Gaudin, Mitre, and Moseley are the biggest non-tender candidates.

Arbitration Eligibles: Boston Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | August 24, 2010 at 7:54am CDT

A look at the Red Sox players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

First time: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Cash
Second time: Hideki Okajima
Third time: Jonathan Papelbon

Okajima stands a good chance of being non-tendered as the Sox try to revamp a portion of their bullpen. I expect Theo Epstein to shop him around in advance of the December 2nd non-tender deadline. As for Cash, Boston would probably non-tender him and try to re-sign him to a minor league deal if they want him back.

Ellsbury seems to be on thin ice in Boston, while Papelbon is having his worst season. Both players are trade candidates. It might be wise to wait for Ellsbury to rebuild value. Papelbon presents a tricky situation. He's still a useful reliever, and could return to greatness in 2011, but the cost may approach $12MM. The Red Sox have to decide whether to trade him, keep him, or even non-tender him.

Arbitration Eligibles: Baltimore Orioles

By Tim Dierkes | August 23, 2010 at 9:10am CDT

A look at the Orioles players who will arbitration-eligible after the season…

First time: Adam Jones, Felix Pie
Second time: Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Albers
Third time: Luke Scott

Albers could be a non-tender candidate, in that his 2010 numbers are nothing special. On the other hand he's earning only $680K this year.

Last November Jones was on the losing side of a three-way tiebreaker to determine whether he'd receive Super Two status. He'll get his first big payday this winter, perhaps $3MM or so.

Guthrie, 31, and Scott, 32, are a couple of late bloomers. I expected the Orioles to shop them this summer, but there hasn't been much in the way of rumors.

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