While high profile free agent signings and blockbuster trades generate most of the headlines during the MLB offseason, salary arbitration is a key component of each club’s winter. While the process is complex and admittedly difficult to understand for the casual fan, it’s place in the game is crucial for the players. While arbitration cases inevitably lead to a level of tension between players and their respective clubs, it’s a necessary evil in the current economic system of baseball.
Relatively speaking, there are very few cases that bleed into an arbitration hearing each year. Out of the hundreds of arb eligible players this, only 15 did not settle with their respective clubs. In this article, we’ll look at those 15 cases and see what the major takeaways are from this year’s cycle of arbitration cases.
Of the 15 cases that went to a hearing, players emerged victorious in 9 of them. That marks the highest winning percentage for the players since the 2019 offseason. As you can see from the table below, clubs had fared well in arbitration hearings over the past couple of years, so this year produced better results for the player side.
Year | Total Cases | Player Victories | Club Victories |
2024 | 15 | 9 | 6 |
2023 | 19 | 6 | 13 |
2022 | 13 | 4 | 9 |
2021 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
2020 | 12 | 5 | 7 |
2019 | 10 | 6 | 4 |
2018 | 22 | 12 | 10 |
Even as more clubs are adopting the “file-and-trial” approach after initial exchanging numbers, we are not seeing a tremendous increase in the quantity of hearings. It’s worth noting that there were fewer hearings in 2021 simply because 2020 was only a 60-game season which obviously created a level of ambiguity pertaining to a player’s value that neither side likely wanted to turn over to an arbitration panel.
The individual players involved in arbitration hearings this year ranged from high profile All-Stars to up-and-down relievers fighting for roster spots. While some players are treated differently than others in arbitration, the process is the same for each and every case. Much like other legal proceedings, precedent often wins the day. You might wonder why there is so much consternation over a few hundred thousand dollars in most cases between players and clubs. It’s because every single arbitration deal signed has long standing ramifications on the next player in line. Players want figures to keep rising while clubs want to keep them as low as possible.
Here is a list of the players who went to a hearing and the salary figures that were debated. We start with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose $1.85 million spread was the widest following Adolis Garcia’s last-minute deal with the Texas Rangers to avoid a hearing.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
1.157 | $19,900,000 | $18,050,000 | $19,900,000 |
Luis Arraez (2B/1B), Miami Marlins
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
4.121 | $12,000,000 | $10,600,000 | $10,600,000 |
J.D. Davis (3B), San Francisco Giants
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
5.137 | $6,900,000 | $6,550,000 | $6,900,000 |
Austin Hays (OF), Baltimore Orioles
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
4.057 | $6,300,000 | $5,850,000 | $6,300,000 |
Tanner Scott (P), Miami Marlins
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
5.059 | $5,700,000 | $5,150,000 | $5,700,000 |
Taylor Ward (OF), Los Angeles Angels
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.164 | $4,800,000 | $4,300,000 | $4,800,000 |
Alec Bohm (3B), Philadelphia Phillies
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.106 | $4,000,000 | $3,400,000 | $4,000,000 |
Harold Ramirez (OF/DH), Tampa Bay Rays
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
4.124 | $4,300,000 | $3,800,000 | $3,800,000 |
Mauricio Dubon (UTL), Houston Astros
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.162 | $3,500,000 | $3,000,000 | $3,500,000 |
Jason Adam (P), Tampa Bay Rays
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.132 | $3,250,000 | $2,700,000 | $2,700,000 |
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (OF), Miami Marlins
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.075 | $2,900,000 | $2,625,000 | $2,625,000 |
Jose Suarez (P), Los Angeles Angels
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.084 | $1,350,000 | $925,000 | $925,000 |
Jacob Webb (P), Baltimore Orioles
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
3.046 | $1,000,000 | $900,000 | $900,000 |
Nick Gordon (UTL), Miami Marlins*
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
2.136 | $1,250,000 | $900,000 | $900,000 |
*Gordon was traded to the Marlins following his arbitration case
Phil Bickford (P), New York Mets
MLB Service Time | Player Request | Team Offer | 2024 Salary |
2.134 | $900,000 | $815,000 | $900,000 |
