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Remaining Arbitration Cases

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High-profile players such as Chase Headley and Martin Prado avoided arbitration last week, further reducing the number of unsigned arb eligible players remaining. There are now just 15 such players, down from the group of 200-plus players for whom MLBTR projected arbitration salaries when the offseason began. Using MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker let's take a look at the remaining unsigned players…

  • Jason Hammel filed for $8.25MM, Orioles countered with $5.7MM
  • Shin-Soo Choo filed for $8MM, Reds countered with $6.75MM
  • Max Scherzer filed for $7.4MM, Tigers countered with $6.05MM
  • Jim Johnson filed for $7.1MM, Orioles countered with $5.7MM
  • Homer Bailey filed for $5.8MM, Reds countered with $4.75MM
  • Jordan Zimmermann filed for $5.8MM, Nationals countered with $4.6MM
  • Clayton Richard filed for $5.55MM, Padres countered with $4.905MM
  • Dexter Fowler filed for $5.15MM, Rockies countered with $4.25MM
  • Mat Latos filed for $4.7MM, Reds countered with $4.15MM
  • Sergio Romo filed for $4.5MM, Giants countered with $2.675MM
  • David Freese filed for $3.75MM, Cardinals countered with $2.4MM
  • Mike Leake filed for $3.5MM, Reds countered with $2.65MM
  • Mike Aviles filed for $3.4MM, Indians countered with $2.4MM
  • Darren O'Day filed for $3.2MM, Orioles countered with $1.8MM
  • Gerardo Parra filed for $2.7MM, Diamondbacks countered with $2.1MM

Hearings are scheduled to begin in Phoenix today and continue through February 21st, Paul Hagen of MLB.com reported last week. However, these cases won't necessarily end up going before panels of arbitrators. No file and trial team has any remaining arb eligible players, as Tim Dierkes recently explained.

Arbitration Basics

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The arbitration process can be confusing, but it doesn't have to be. At its essence the process provides a structured way of compensating players with significant MLB experience who haven't yet earned the right to negotiate for their salaries in free agency.

When a player has between three and six years of service time or qualifies as a super two, he's arbitration eligible, assuming he’s on a team’s roster and not already under contract. Players who qualify for arbitration can negotiate for raises based on their production in comparison to that of their peers. While arbitration eligible players don’t earn as much as they could on the open market and can only negotiate with one team, it can still be a lucrative process with many agreements in excess of $5MM.

Only a small percentage of cases go to hearings each year. Players who do have hearings must defend their filing number in front of a panel of arbitrators (players might attend the hearings, but agents and MLBPA officials would argue on the player’s behalf). After hearing arguments from both sides the panel will either side with the team or the player; there’s no compromising.

Here are some links to posts and resources that will help make sense of arbitration, a fixture in baseball offseasons for four decades:

Largest Remaining Arbitration Cases

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When the offseason began, MLBTR had projected arbitration salaries for more than 200 players. Most of those players have agreed to terms with their respective clubs, and many others were non-tendered or otherwise removed from their teams' 40-man rosters. That leaves 29 unsigned arbitration eligible players, including many high profile cases. Using MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker let's take a look at the ten unsigned players who filed for $5MM plus when they exchanged figures with teams one week ago…

The Diamondbacks, who acquired Prado from Atlanta yesterday, will have to defend the Braves’ filing number if they don’t work out a multiyear agreement with their new acquisition. Many others, including Bailey and Zimmermann, are also candidates for multiyear deals.

Hearings will begin next month, though these cases won't necessarily end up going before panels of arbitrators. No file and trial team has any remaining arb eligible players, as Tim Dierkes recently explained. That said, the Nationals have been regulars at arb hearings in recent years, even though they aren't technically a file and trial team.

Players Who Obtained Qualifying Offers

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Early on in the 2012-13 offseason, on the first Monday of November, nine free agents obtained qualifying offers from their former teams. By the Friday of that week, all nine players had declined the offers, which were in play for the first time under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement.

Though the new CBA is still in its first full offseason, much of the mystery that once surrounded qualifying offers has disappeared in the last 11 weeks. Every club has had the chance to pursue players linked to draft pick compensation, and at least one team doesn’t like what it sees. The Mets have already lobbied MLB for modifications to the rules, though it doesn’t seem likely they’ll be granted an exception. Speaking in general terms earlier this month, Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive VP of labor relations, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he’s not yet prepared to say baseball’s CBA needs changes.

“I’m not inclined to get into a discussion about changing an agreement when it hasn’t even operated for a full year,” Manfred said.

Despite the limitations imposed by qualifying offers — and it’s no secret that these restrictions reduce interest and depress player salaries — the players that turned them down are doing well to this point in the offseason. As MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows, the seven players who signed after declining qualifying offers obtained an average of $50MM, with no player obtaining less than $15MM in guaranteed money.

The group includes two free agents who are both represented by agent Scott Boras: Bourn and Lohse. The market for Bourn appears to be developing, though the market for Lohse remains unclear. As noted earlier, the Mets would like to have the option of sidestepping the rules to sign Bourn. Similarly, Lohse has lamented the effect of the qualifying offer.

Yet as Boras showed when he found a two-year deal for Rafael Soriano, it’s too early to rule out substantial contracts for top free agents. In its short history, the qualifying offer has clearly limited interest in many free agents linked to draft pick compensation. But to this point it hasn’t prevented players from finding lucrative multiyear free agent contracts.

RotoAuthority.com: Our Fantasy Baseball Site Is Back

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RotoAuthority was my first website, launched in June 2005. The site was brimming with fantasy baseball analysis, often off the beaten path. My posts became sporadic as MLBTR grew, so in recent times I've recruited a team to ensure regular, high-quality content for 2013. The group includes Alex Steers McCrum, Bryan Grosnick, Mark Polishuk, and Steve Adams. We'll be covering everything you need to win your mixed league, including sleepers, busts, rankings, average draft position, and projections. Our newest posts:

Baseball Trade Rumors App Now Supports iPhone 5

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I'm pleased to announce our popular Baseball Trade Rumors app now supports the larger screen of the iPhone 5.  The app, which costs $2.99, also supports older iPhones as well as iPads.  It's a great way to read MLBTR posts on your phone ad-free, and also allows you to set up custom push notifications for players and/or teams.  Check out the Baseball Trade Rumors app today! 

If you're more of an Android type of person, check out that app here.

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

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If you prefer your MLBTR fix limited to only your favorite team, we've got you covered.  Below are links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

How To Use MLBTR

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An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

  • If the main site doesn't load perfectly on your cell phone, try the more mobile-friendly mlbtraderumors.mobi.  It's a simple page that shows you just the headlines and lets you click through to what you want to read.
  • If you're an iPhone user, be sure to pick up our app for the latest news and rumors. MLBTR just introduced an Android app as well.
  • If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
  • To return to the main page at any time, just click on the title or the Home button on the navigation bar below the title. 
  • The navigation bar will cover many of your needs.  Use the About dropdown to learn about this site or any of its writers. 
  • The Contact button takes you to a page where you can write an email message to the MLBTR writers.  If you have a link to a rumor we've missed, please send it in through the Contact page!  Also use the Contact page to inquire about advertising on MLBTR.
  • The Archives dropdown shows you 15 months worth.  If you need to go back further, click on Site Map at the very bottom of the page.  Site Map also lists out every MLBTR post category, including players, teams, and features.
  • The Tools dropdown takes you to a number of different places. The MLBTR Widget allows website owners to easily add a constantly updated box with all of MLBTR's headlines to their sites.
  • Also under the tools tab is our Transaction Tracker, which enables you to search about anything and everything to do with baseball trades, signings and extensions. 
  • Under the tools tab, you'll find a link to our Forums, a message board community of MLBTR readers with over 9,100 members.  You can discuss any baseball-related topic on the Forums, and start your own thread too.
  • MLBTR's Agency Database lets you know which agencies represent which players. It's searchable by team, agency or player, so be sure to check it out.
  • Feeds By Team is a very useful dropdown.  Hover over it to see all 30 teams.  Click on the team name to bring up a page of every post containing information about that team, with the latest on top.  These are the same pages you'll find if you go to the Rumors By Team section on the sidebar and select A's Rumors, Angels Rumors, etc.  
  • Also under the Feeds By Team dropdown, you'll find RSS and Twitter buttons.  Those links allow you to follow a single team's rumors via RSS or Twitter.  Did you know we have a separate Twitter account for each of the 30 teams?  For example you can follow @mlbtrtigers, where you would get the latest Tigers updates.
  • You can also follow Tim Dierkes and Ben Nicholson-Smith on Twitter for more MLBTR content.
  • On the far right of the Navigation bar, you'll see buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.  MLBTR has over 240,000 Twitter followers, over 66,000 Facebook fans, and over 53,000 RSS subscribers.  Sign up for these and you'll be the first to receive all of our posts.
  • Be sure to check out your favorite team's MLBTR page on Facebook so you can receive and comment on the latest rumors.
  • On to the sidebar.  It begins with a list of our Top Stories, which our writers update any time major hard news occurs.  Go here for a quick update on the most important stories.  Below that is the site's Search Box, where you can type in any player's name and get the latest on him. 
  • MLBTR Features has all kinds of goodies, including our free agent lists.  Many of the MLBTR Features are constantly updated by our writers, so be assured that our free agent lists are always fresh. 
  • Below Features you've got headlines for all the Recent Posts, in case you'd rather not scroll to see all the headlines.  Then there's a box for our Mailing List, where you can sign up to receive a daily email containing MLBTR's posts.  Use this option if you don't need the news as soon as possible.
  • Next we have Featured Posts, where you'll find original work from MLBTR writers we consider noteworthy. 
  • There's also a contact form in case you need to reach MLBTR.

Managers And GMs Entering Their Contract Years

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After a surprise playoff berth in 2012, the Orioles definitely wanted to keep manager Buck Showalter and executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette in the fold, today announcing that both men had been signed to extensions through the 2018 season.  As Showalter's previous deal only ran through next year, his extension removes him from this list of managers and general managers who are entering the final year of their current contracts and will be looking to earn themselves some Showalter-esque job security.  This list could be partially incomplete, as some teams don't release terms of front office executives' contracts.  Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for many of these details.

* Dodgers.  No manager in baseball is under the pressure that Don Mattingly faces in 2013.  Though the skipper has led Los Angeles to a pair of winning seasons while the club was going through the turmoil of the McCourt ownership sale, Mattingly will be expected to deliver a playoff appearance (at minimum) given how much money the new Dodgers' owners have poured into the franchise.  As respected as Mattingly is, the Dodgers could easily make an early managerial change if the team doesn't get off to a strong start.

* Rockies.  A team known for its unusual management moves (ex-manager Jim Tracy's "handshake deal" and the current split of GM duties between Dan O'Dowd and Bill Geivett) made another one in hiring new manager Walt Weiss, who is serving under just a one-year contract.  While this theoretically puts Weiss on the hot seat from day one, you'd think the rookie skipper would be given some rope given that the Rockies are coming off a last-place season and don't look anywhere near contention in 2013.  The Denver Post's Troy Renck examined Weiss' unique contract, a situation that Weiss himself embraces.

* Cardinals.  GM John Mozeliak is entering the last year of his current deal, while manager Mike Matheny is entering his last guaranteed year, though the Cards have a team option on Matheny for 2014.  You have to figure that neither man is going anywhere given Cardinals' recent success.  Mozeliak is a good bet to receive an extension before Opening Day and Matheny could also receive a new deal given how well the team performed in his first year taking over from Tony La Russa on the St. Louis bench.

* Pirates.  It's essentially a winning season or else for Clint Hurdle, as the Bucs' collapse down the stretch in 2012 extended the team's streak to a record 20 straight seasons with a sub-.500 record.

* Mets.  Terry Collins is entering his last season under contract at Citi Field but while the Mets have yet to crack the .500 mark in his two years as manager, one can hardly hold Collins responsible given the team's tumultuous payroll situation.  Collins is probably in no danger of being fired and I'd guess he'll be extended through 2014 unless the Mets' performance really craters.

* Braves.  Fredi Gonzalez is going into his last guaranteed year, though the Braves hold a club option on the skipper for 2014.  One would think it would take a real collapse for that option to not get picked up, as Gonzalez has a 183-141 record in his first two years as Atlanta's manager.  Of course, the team did famously collapse in September 2011 but the Braves rebounded to grab a playoff berth last season.

* Phillies.  Before Charlie Manuel signed his last extension, he said that he wanted to manage until he turned 70 and then would discuss his future with Phillies management.  Manuel's advancing age may be the excuse the team needs to make a change at manager, especially if the Phils have another underwhelming season.  If the Phillies are successful, Manuel and the team could choose to pursue Jim Leyland-style one-year contracts for 2014 and beyond if Manuel has doubts about how much longer he wishes to manage.

* Nationals.  Unlike many managers on this list, Davey Johnson is entering his last year as manager by choice, as his extension with Washington will only keep him on the bench through 2013 and he will continue as a team consultant in 2014.  It seems likely that this will be Johnson's last year of managing as he obviously could have gotten a longer deal had he wished, given the Nats' run to the NL East crown last season.  One of the top storylines of the 2013-14 offseason will be who gets the coveted job of Nationals manager, as few jobs in baseball have as much long-term potential.

* Mariners.  Eric Wedge and Jack Zduriencik are both going into the last year of their deals and following consecutive losing seasons, Seattle may have to see significant improvement on the field if either man is to be retained.  The announcement that Safeco Field's fences are being moved in could buy Zduriencik a little time, as he could be given another season to attract hitters to Seattle if it becomes clear that Safeco is no longer an extreme pitchers' park.  Zduriencik has been bold in his pursuit of hitting talent this winter, acquiring Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse on top of trying to trade for Justin Upton and going after free agents like Nick Swisher and Josh Hamilton.

* Twins.  Ron Gardenhire has won six division titles as Minnesota's manager but only has one playoff series victory to his credit and now has suffered back-to-back last place seasons.  That said, now-permanent GM Terry Ryan said last August that he didn't plan to fire Gardenhire, so we could see the Twins skipper get something akin to a one-year extension during Spring Training just so Gardenhire can avoid lame-duck status.  It may seem odd to extend a manager coming off seasons of 99 and 96 losses, respectively, but I'd guess that Gardenhire's track record has earned him some leeway.

* Tigers.  Jim Leyland signed another one-year extension following the World Series, which is how he prefers it at this stage of his career.  He and the Tigers seem content to handle things on an annual basis, and obviously the team is pleased with Leyland's recent results.

* Royals.  The pressure will be on Ned Yost as Kansas City has legitimate hopes to contend for the time in years.  The Royals exercised Yost's 2013 option last February and if the team gets off to a slow start, Yost could very well be fired as soon as late April or early May.  Conversely, Yost could be an early extension candidate if K.C. starts out playing well and management decides they're on the right track.

* Yankees.  Because the Yankees generally don't pursue extensions before contracts expire, manager Joe Girardi has little room to negotiate, no matter how much his record with the team may make him seem like a no-brainer extension candidate.  Hypothetical scenario: if Mattingly is fired by the Dodgers after a winning (but non-playoff) season and the Yankees don't at least win the AL pennant, just imagine how heavily the New York media will push the idea of the Yankees bringing Mattingly back to the Bronx as the team's new manager.

More Multiyear Deals This Offseason

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From Zack Greinke's record setting $147MM contract to Gerald Laird’s relatively modest $3.3MM guarantee, MLB free agents have been cashing in with multiyear deals all offseason long. To this point in the winter 46 free agents have signed multiyear contracts with MLB teams, as MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows.

With players such as Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse, Rafael Soriano, Joe Saunders and Scott Hairston remaining on the free agent market, there’s reason to believe that total will continue rising in the weeks leading up to Spring Training. MLB teams have already surpassed last offseason’s total of 39 multiyear deals and the 2010-11 offseason total of 44, according to MLBTR’s Tracker.

In total, 24 of the 30 MLB teams have signed a free agent to a multiyear deal this winter. The Orioles, Astros, Mets, Marlins, Rockies and Padres are the only teams that have yet to make a multiyear commitment to a free agent.

MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker allows you to filter free agents by many criteria: team, position, signing status, years, and dollars. This year we made it possible to filter free agents according to whether they obtained, accepted and declined qualifying offers. You can also link to your search results.

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