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Salary Arbitration Update

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

As we get closer to the hearing stage of salary arbitration, 26 of the 48 players and teams who exchanged numbers, or slightly over one-half, have agreed to contracts according to my research. So far, there are eight multiyear deals, one above the midpoint, four at the midpoint, and 13 below the midpoint.

The multiyear deals include Rafael Betancourt (Indians), Robinson Cano (Yankees), Endy Chavez (Mets), Michael Cuddyer (Twins), Yadier Molina (Cardinals), Jon Rauch (Nationals), Freddy Sanchez (Pirates), and Rafael Soriano (Braves).

The one deal that came in above the midpoint is Geoff Geary of the Astros. Geary signed for $1,125,000. That figure is $25,000 above the midpoint.

The four deals at the midpoint are Joe Beimel (Dodgers), Chad Gaudin (Athletics), Matt Guerrier (Twins), and Scott Proctor (Dodgers).

There are 13 deals below the midpoint. Because I was asked about the gap between the base salary and the midpoint, I have included that information in this posting. Keep in mind that often the deals include performance bonuses that can change the ultimate outcome.

Matt Belisle (Reds) signed for $75,000 below the midpoint. Casey Blake?s deal with the Indians is $50,000 below the midpoint. Dave Borkowski signed for $125,000 below the midpoint. Even if he earns all of his $50,000 in bonuses, he will not get to the midpoint. Brian Bruney and the Yankees are $17,500 below the midpoint. David Bush?s deal with the Brewers is $75,000 below the midpoint. Vinnie Chulk?s contract with the Giants is $12,500 below the midpoint. Pedro Feliciano is $15,000 below the midpoint with his contracts with the Mets. Esteban German and the Royals agreed to a deal that is $18,750 below the midpoint. Alexis Rios and the Blue Jays reached an agreement that is $257,500 below the midpoint of $5,092,500. That is the largest gap of the deals concluded so far this year. Kyle Snyder ended up with a deal with the Red Sox that is $40,000 below the midpoint. Jorge Sosa?s $2,000,000 deal with the Mets is $225,000 below the midpoint. Todd Wellemeyer is withing $100,000 of the midpoint with the Cardinals, and his deal includes the difference in performance bonuses. Michael Wuertz and the Cubs are within $2,500 of the midpoint.

Of the group still without a deal and getting closer to hearings, the Rockies have the most unsigned at three (Garrett Atkins, Brian Fuentes, Brad Hawpe). The Mets recent signing of Feliciano and Sosa leave them with two (Ryan Church and Oliver Perez). The others: Angels of Anaheim (Francisco Rodriguez), Astros (Mark Loretta, Jose Valverde), Brewers (J.J. Hardy), Giants (Kevin Correia), Nationals (Felipe Lopez), Orioles (Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera), Padres (Josh Bard, Khalil Greene), Phillies (Eric Bruntlett, Ryan Howard), Red Sox (Kevin Youkilis), Reds (Brandon Phillips), Royals (Zack Greinke, Mark Teahen), and Yankees (Chien-Ming Wang).

There have been reports that Khalil Greene is close to a multiyear deal with the Padres. A deal between the Mariners and the Orioles for Erik Bedard is apparently still in the works.

Full post as published by Sports Law Blog on February 07, 2008 (boomark / email).