Deals can still get done before arbitration hearings
Arbitration Friday has come and gone, and a handful of players could be headed to hearings to determine their salary figures for the 2017 season.
Players become arbitration-eligible after they've acquired at least three years and fewer than six years of MLB service time, the latter representing the duration they must accrue before becoming eligible for free agency.
Clubs and arbitration-eligible players negotiate suitable salaries, or "filing numbers," by a deadline -- which for 2017 was Friday at 1 p.m. ET -- primarily based on comparable players who have signed contracts in recent seasons.
• Flurry of deals done before arb deadline
However, players who do not have a contract agreement in place at the deadline are in line to have their salary settled through arbitration hearings, which are scheduled to take place Jan. 30 to Feb. 17. The player and club each present a case to a three-person panel, which then determines one figure or the other as the player's salary. Salaries can be cut by up to 20 percent at arbitration hearings, though such cases are rare.
Players who rank among the top 22 percent in service time exceeding two years but fewer than three qualify for the "Super Two" designation. These players are generally right on the cutoff of service time for arbitration eligibility, and if they qualify, will go through four years of arbitration instead of three.
Most clubs hope to avoid facing the panel, and negotiations can continue until a hearing. However, a handful of teams employ the "File and Trial" practice. Essentially, these clubs approach the figure-exchange date as a hard deadline and no longer negotiate one-year deals with players if they are unable to reach agreements before exchanging salary figures. Traditionally, the teams that have done so and still have arbitration-eligible players to sign for 2017 include the Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Marlins, Pirates and Mets.
Clubs that have signed all of their arbitration-eligible players include the Braves, Mariners, Twins, White Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Reds, Angels, Tigers, Giants, Nationals and Rockies.
Following is a breakdown of the arbitration-eligible players who have yet to sign a contract for 2017. No club has confirmed that any of these players have reached an agreement.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS
• RHP Mike Fiers (first year)
• 1B Marwin Gonzalez (second year)
• RHP Will Harris (first year)
• RHP Collin McHugh (first year)
ATHLETICS
• LF Khris Davis (first year)
BLUE JAYS
• RHP Marcus Stroman (first year, Super Two)
INDIANS
• OF Brandon Guyer (second year)
ORIOLES
• RHP Brad Brach (second year)
• RHP Kevin Gausman (first year, Super Two)
• C Caleb Joseph (first year, Super Two)
RANGERS
• LHP Jake Diekman (second year)
RAYS
• RHP Jake Odorizzi (first year)
RED SOX
• LHP Fernando Abad (third year)
• LHP Thomas Pomeranz (second year)
ROYALS
• LHP Danny Duffy (third year)
• RHP Kelvin Herrera (second year)
YANKEES
• RHP Dellin Betances (first year)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS
• RHP Chase Anderson (first year)
CARDINALS
• RHP Carlos Martinez (first year)
• RHP Michael Wacha (first year)
CUBS
• RHP Pedro Strop (third year)
D-BACKS
• RHP Shelby Miller (first year)
• RHP Taijuan Walker (first year, Super Two)
MARLINS
• RHP David Phelps (second year)
METS
• INF Wilmer Flores (first year)
PHILLIES
• 2B Cesar Hernandez (first year, Super Two)
PIRATES
• LHP Tony Watson (third year)