Today – a couple of hours ago, actually – was the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to file for arbitration. Thus there has been a flurry of reports from all over of players agreeing to terms with their parent clubs to avoid the annoying task that is the arbitration hearing.
That kind of agreement happened for one Atlanta pitcher, but not another.
Yesterday afternoon, James Russell agreed to a deal that will pay him $2.425 million for 2015. However, it was just reported that Mike Minor could not come to terms with the Braves:
Minor and the #Braves have not reached an agreement and it now appears his 2015 salary will be determined during by an arbitration hearing.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 16, 2015
Policy Stuff
Mike Minor. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves National League Baseball Club, Inc. has adopted the “File and Trial” policy used by a handful of other clubs: once the filing deadline is reached, the negotiations end there. The next step (today) is that each side exchanges numbers – the salary figures they will be prepared to defend at trial – and then each side will make their case in front of an arbitrator sometime in late February.
The Braves have not gotten all the way to the trial room since 2001, when John Rocker took them there. On a number of occasions, the “strict policy” has been otherwise bent or twisted beyond recognition when one side of the other proposed something that the other side couldn’t ignore. Usually this have taken the form of a multi-year deal of some sort.
Such was the case in 2014 with Jason Heyward (a 2 year deal) and for Craig Kimbrel (who instructed his agent to go get something done after he saw others getting long-term deals… now he has one, too).
This time… things could be different.
Mike Minor vs. the Braves
There have been a few occasions in which we have all been left to wonder if Mike really wants to be in Atlanta. There was an incident widely interpreted as a “play me or trade me” complaint from 2011 or 2012. Last year’s arbitration agreement came down to the wire before the two sides agreed on a $3.85 million contract.
Thanks to the recent departures of…. well, a lot of pitchers… Mike is now the highest-paid starter on the staff (Kimbrel and Jason Grilli are currently higher, but Mike will eventually overtake Grilli this year). Minor’s arbitration estimate from MLB Traderumors is $5.1 million for 2015.
This is an important number… whatever it ends up being later on. This is Mike’s 2nd of four arbitration years (he is a Super-2 player, getting an extra arb year due to extra service time). It’s a number that sets Mike up for bigger paydays down the road. It is in the Braves’ interest to keep this as low as possible; it’s likewise clearly in Minor’s interest to raise the bar, for it acts like a ‘multiplier’ (sort of) for future negotiations.
The Braves likely have another motivation to keep this salary lower. Trade value.
If you haven’t been paying attention on these pages, then shame on you, but recognize that the Braves have an army of arms nearly ready to join the rotation. Both Manny Banuelos and Michael Foltynewicz could be ready by mid-season… if not earlier. That could bump somebody, and the logical pick would be Minor.
If Minor is fully healthy and throwing up to his best standards, then trading him this July should be a snap. If there’s any questions, though, then $1 million either way might make the difference in seeing the Braves pick up a better prospect in return – especially since the receiving team will have him under team control through 2017… they would want him at an affordable rate.
Marking Territory
Minor’s representatives (Jet Sports Management) will know all of this, of course. But their job isn’t to make life easier for the Braves. I will expect their arb number will be in the neighborhood of $5.5 million while the Braves come in around $4.75 million. The Braves will point to Minor’s slow start and slow finish (a meager 76 ERA+ overall) and suggest that the lower number is justified due to poor performance.
Minor’s camp will respond by claiming that when their client is fully healthy, he can pitch toe-to-toe with anyone… and has demonstrated that.
Whoever convinces the arbitrator that they are “more right” than the other guy will win the day. And their salary number.
Let’s see if they end up getting that far.
Next: Coming Soon to a Rotation Near You
Other News
- Tyler Pastornicky has cleared his DFA waivers – he is likely to be assigned to AAA Gwinnett, and is off the 40-man roster.
- First signs of Braves’ Caravan participants: Alex Wood, David Hale, Josh Outman and Todd Cunningham will be at Warner Robins on the stop next Tuesday afternoon.