GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The result of Trevor Bauer's arbitration hearing last week is currently in a sealed envelope. It may even be secured inside a safe for the time being. It is being treated as top secret information, but delaying the disclosing of Bauer's salary is not impacting the start of the right-hander's spring.
"I don't even know what it is," Bauer said on Wednesday, which was report day for Indians pitchers and catchers. "I'm a professional. I show up and do my job the best I can. Either way, I'm well-compensated."
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Bauer's arbitration hearing took place on Thursday, but neither the pitcher nor team currently know the result rendered by the three-person panel. Bauer was seeking $6.525 million, while the Indians countered with a proposed salary of $5.3 million for the coming season. The verdict should make its way to both parties at some point within the next several days.
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The reason for delaying the details of the decision on Bauer's salary is that there are a handful of other pitchers with similar arbitration cases this spring. Baltimore's Kevin Gausman, for example, had similar filing numbers ($6.225 million vs. $5.3 million) to Bauer before avoiding arbitration on Tuesday with a $5.6 million pact. Marcus Stroman and Jake Odorizzi are among the other pitchers with similar cases.
As is the case with all arbitration hearings, Bauer was present when the arguments were made by his representatives and the Indians' camp. That can be a difficult situation for players, but Bauer said he was interested to learn more about the process involved.
"It's a business," Bauer said. "The decision to go to arbitration wasn't centered around [learning more about it], but once it was clear that it was going to happen, it was interesting for me. I've never really been in a courtroom. I've never really seen how that side of things work. Seeing the legal process and how cases are structured, I tried to just ask questions about why this and why that and how it's going to work. I like figuring out how things work, so I liked it from that standpoint."
Over parts of six seasons, Bauer is 47-41 with a 4.36 ERA in 132 appearances. Last year, he set career highs in wins (17), starts (31), strikeouts (196), strikeouts per nine innings (10.0) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.3) in 176 1/3 innings. Bauer, 27, was especially strong down the stretch in '17, going 10-1 with a 2.60 ERA, 91 strikeouts and 23 walks in 83 innings over his final 14 outings.
The Tribe's entire rotation was on hand at the team's spring complex on Wednesday. Beyond Bauer, that includes Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger. Come Thursday, the team's pitchers and catchers will hold their first official workout of the spring.
"There's always the renewed sense of hope and optimism when you come to Spring Training," Bauer said. "We've got a lot of the same guys, but a lot of new guys around. New faces. New stories to learn. New people to talk to. It's starting the process of building team chemistry and that camaraderie, and all that stuff that's super important for later in the season to go where we want to go, where we know we can go."
Brantley's comeback underway
For the third consecutive spring, left fielder Michael Brantley's status for Opening Day is questionable due to health concerns. This preseason, Brantley is rehabbing from the right ankle surgery he underwent in October. The veteran outfielder dealt with right shoulder and biceps issues in the previous two preseasons.
According to president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, Brantley is currently able to throw, take part in limited hitting activity and do straight-forward jogging. Sprinting, agility work and baserunning will be slowly added into Brantley's running program over the next few weeks.
"Brant's doing well," Antonetti said. "Overall, his rehab and his progression all offseason has been very good. He's met every one of the checkpoints so far. As we shared, we really won't have a firm timetable until he's able to run and sprint and cut. That's going to be the biggest limiting factor."
Worth noting
• Right-hander Cody Anderson, who underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last March, is scheduled to throw off a mound for the first time since the procedure on Saturday. Said Anderson: "I'm more excited that anything. It's been a long road."
• Position players are not required to report to camp until Sunday, but there are plenty already on hand in Goodyear. On Wednesday, Jose Ramirez, Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, Yandy Diaz, Yonder Alonso and Brantley were among those at the team's complex. Jason Kipnis has also reported.