An often overlooked, but important date of the off-season baseball calendar is fast approaching. That date is January 11, 2019 and it marks the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to submit 2019 salary figures.
The player files what he believes he should be paid in the upcoming season and the team counters with what they think the player should be paid. It is important to note that even after the filing period, both the teams and players can still negotiate a contract of any size.
Over 200 players are arbitration-eligible in 2019 and as of this writing only about 20% have avoided arbitration by settling with their team on a new contract. Interestingly, the World Champion Boston Red Sox have the most players who are eligible for arbitration with 12, followed by the Diamondbacks with 11 with four teams having ten (Astros, Brewers, Dodgers, and Twins).
The Red Sox have 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts arbitration-eligible and it will be interesting to see if the Sox try to negotiates a long-term contract with Betts before his free agency years which begin after the 2020 season.
As for the New York Mets, after Travis d’Arnaud agreed to terms with the team in late December, they are left with six players who are arbitration-eligible. The six names will be listed along with the estimate for their projected arbitration salaries according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Jacob deGrom, RHP – The NL reigning Cy Young award winner, is entering his third year of arbitration and is projected to make $12.9 million. DeGrom earned $7.4 million in 2018.
Zack Wheeler, RHP – The 28-year-old also entering his third year of arbitration and is projected to get a significant raise to $5.3 million from his $1.9 million salary of a year ago.
Noah Syndergaard, RHP – He’s entering his second year of arbitration and is projected to make $5.9 million after earning a little over $2.9 million last year.
Steven Matz, LHP – Entering his first year of arbitration and is expected to earn $3 million. It is interesting to note that the first four players are all Mets’ pitchers, under team control for now but free agency looms around the corner.
Michael Conforto, OF – He’s entering his first year of arbitration and is projected to see a significant raise to $4.4 million in 2019.
Kevin Plawecki, C -Also in his first year of arbitration, is expected to earn $1.3 million.
The most notable of the above of course is Jacob deGrom. Mike Puma of the NY Post wrote on Tuesday that a long-term contract with deGrom is a team priority, but the Mets have not extended an offer to him as of now.
Puma’s sources further indicate that there were discussions at the recently concluded Winter Meetings between Mets’ COO Jeff Wilpon and deGrom’s new agent, Jeff Berry, but it is still unclear if the talks involved a long-term contract or a possible salary for 2019. Mets’ GM Brodie Van Wagenen, deGrom’s former agent, was not allowed to participate in the talks for fear of conflict of interest.
DeGrom, 30, is under team control for the next two seasons so it certainly behooves him to seek a deal as soon as he can. It is not unreasonable for deGrom to ask for a salary in the Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke area all of whom make over $30 million per year. It will be interesting to see how the contracts of Betts and deGrom play out over the coming days, months or even years and if either (or both) the Red Sox and the Mets decide to opt for long-term deals.
With January 11 just a week away, general managers around baseball will be busy trying to sign their own players and avoid arbitration which can be contentious. Randy Levine, the president of the New York Yankees, still has some harsh words for Dellin Betances following their 2017 hearing.
Over the years, the vast majority of arbitration-eligible players agree to a contract before filing salary figures. For those who do not, arbitration hearings will take place between February 1 and February 20. Some teams, like the Mets use a “file and trial” approach meaning that a team cuts off contract negotiations after filing salary figures. This is meant to put pressure on the player to sign. But as pointed out by the Post, “file and trial” teams are often open to negotiating long-term contracts, so that the player will not necessarily be heading for arbitration.
Whatever happens, it is assured that it will be a long and potentially arduous time for baseball before pitchers and catchers finally report in Florida and Arizona in mid-February.
