Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
The Major League Baseball lockout prevented players from figuring out their salaries prior to the season. The deadline for teams and players to submit arbitration numbers is today, March 22.
Arbitration hearings will begin on April 7, stretching into the regular season.
The Mets will have 14 players submit their price today. Edwin Diaz is projected to earn the most in arbitrations with a salary of $10.4 million. Here’s the full projected list by MLB Trade Rumors.
- Edwin Diaz (5.121, Arb 3) – $10.4 million
- Seth Lugo (5.082, Arb 3) – $3.7 million
- Miguel Castro (5.079, Arb 3) – $2.6 million
- Brandon Nimmo (5.042, Arb 3) – $6 million
- Trevor Williams (5.027, Arb 3) – $3.8 million
- Dominic Smith (3.146, Arb 2) – $4 million
- J.D. Davis (3.137, Arb 2) – $2.7 million
- Tomas Nido (3.089, Arb 1) – $900,000
- Jeff McNeil (3.069, Arb 1) – $2.8 million
- Joey Lucchesi (3.067, Arb 1) – $1.6 million
- Drew Smith (3.034, Arb 1) – $900,000
- Pete Alonso (3.000, Arb 1) – $7.3 million
- Luis Guillorme (2.167, Pre-Arb ) – $700,000
- Chris Bassitt (5.130, Arb 3) – $8.8 million
MLB describes these players as eligible.
“Players who have three or more years of Major League service but less than six years of Major League service become eligible for salary arbitration if they do not already have a contract for the next season. Players who have less than three but more than two years of service time can also become arbitration eligible if they meet certain criteria; these are known as “Super Two” players. Players and clubs negotiate over salaries, primarily based on comparable players who have signed contracts in recent seasons. A player’s salary can indeed be reduced in arbitration — with 20 percent being the maximum amount by which a salary can be cut.”
The awkwardness of the arbitration hearings might hit an all-time high. With negotiations stretching into the regular season, teams might spend the day saying why a player isn’t worth that much then rely on them to be in the starting lineup that night.
The Mets are likely to add over $50 million in contracts once arbitration proceedings are done. Thus the Mets will be in the new fourth tier of the luxury tax.
