Friday occasions the arbitration deadline in Major League Baseball, which means it's the final day for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary figures for the upcoming season.
By way of reminder, players with between three and six years of big-league service time* have their salaries determined or at least informed by salary arbitration. Typically, arbitration salaries come out of negotiations between team and arb-eligible player, but if an agreement can't be reached then each side submits its salary figure to an arbitration panel. The panel then picks one figure or the other -- there's no averaging the two submitted figures or otherwise pulling a salary out of thin air for the player. This dynamic encourages serious negotiation, and it explains why you don't see truly absurd figure exchanges by player or team (if either side submitted a preposterous salary figure, then the panel would swiftly choose the opposing figure).
As for that asterisk (*) above, a small group of players known as "super twos" are eligible for an extra year of salary arbitration after just two years of MLB service. Generally, though, players see big salary growth in years three, four, and five of their careers heading into free agency after six years of service time. That's thanks to arbitration. By way of prominent example, Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani back in October avoided the process by agreeing to a one-year, $30 million pact for his upcoming walk year. Not surprisingly, that's a record salary for an arb-eligible player.
Most arb-eligible players will agree to salaries for the upcoming season prior to the deadline, and others will agree to terms before an arbitration hearing is set to go down. A smaller number won't reach an accord with their teams and will indeed participate in a hearing, but those hearings can become contentious and awkward -- it in essence asks teams to diminish the accomplishments of the player in question -- and both sides typically prefer to avoid that final step. That "typically" qualifier is important, as some clubs take a "file and trial" approach, in which they refuse to negotiate further if deadline day doesn't yield an agreement.
Also of note is that for some prominent arb-eligible players, long-term extensions can grow out of these talks. That is, negotiations with arb-eligible players don't have to yield a one-year pact. Sometimes they can even lead to nine-figure pacts that "buy out" the players' remaining arb years and one or more free-agent seasons.
Below we'll track the prominent signings on deadline day, led off by one that went down well prior to Friday's finish line.
Devers, Red Sox agree to big extension
The Red Sox earlier this month halted a trend of hemorrhaging homegrown stars by signing third baseman Rafael Devers to an 11-year, $331 million extension. Devers had been third-year arbitration-eligible and slated for free agency following the 2023 season. Instead, he'll be in a Boston uniform for years to come.
Devers, 26, hit .295/.358/.521 (141 OPS+) with 42 doubles, 27 homers, and a 4.4 WAR last season and made his second straight All-Star team. He's already amassed nearly 3,000 plate appearances in 689 career regular-season games since debuting at just 20 years old and slashed .283/.342/.512 (124 OPS+) over that span. He led the AL with 54 doubles in 2019 and he has two 30-plus homer, 100-plus RBI seasons to his credit.
Soto, Padres strike deal for 2023
The Padres and star slugger Juan Soto have agreed to a $23 million contract for 2023, ESPN reports. Soto was the prize of last season's trade deadline, and in 153 combined games for the Padres and Nationals he tallied 27 home runs and an MLB-leading 135 walks. For his career, the 24-year-old has a sky-scraping OPS+ of 157. Soto is slated for free agency after the 2024 season, which means one more year of arbitration eligibility. The big question remains whether the Padres will be able to sign him to a (likely record-breaking) long-term extension before he reaches free agency. What we do know is that no long-term deal came out of Friday's deadline.
Flaherty, Cardinals reach agreement
The Cardinals and right-hander Jack Flaherty have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $5.4 million contract for 2023, Derrick Goold reports. Flaherty, 27, again dealt with injuries last season, but his ace upside -- he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young balloting back in 2019 -- means he remains an important figure in the St. Louis rotation. He remains slated for free agency following the upcoming season.
Orioles agree to terms with Mullins
In his first year of abitration eligibility, outfielder Cedric Mullins will receive a salary of $4.1 million for 2023, Jon Heyman reports. Mullins, 28, was an All-Star in 2021 and is coming off a 2022 season in which he hit 16 home runs and stole 34 bases as Baltimore's primary center fielder.
Dodgers, Buehler have deal
The Dodgers will pay ace Walker Buehler a salary of $8.025 million for 2023, Mark Feinsand reports. Buehler was limited last season by an arm injury that eventually resulted in Tommy John surgery. It's possible he won't pitch at all in 2023.
Other notables
Here are some notable players who reportedly agreed to standard one-year deals to avoid arbitration:
Josh Hader, Padres ($14 million -- arbitration record for a reliever)Rhys Hoskins, Phillies ($12 million)Jordan Montgomery, Cardinals ($10 million)Anthony Santander, Orioles ($7.4 million)Dylan Cease, White Sox ($5.7 million)Kyle Farmer, Twins ($5.585 million)Tyler O'Neill, Cardinals ($4.95 million)Rowdy Tellez, Brewers ($4.95 million)Gregory Soto, Phillies ($3.925 million)Dustin May, Dodgers ($1.675 million)
