Arbitration Breakdown

The arbitration deadline has come and gone, as 23 players have been offered arbitration by their teams. In the Type A category, if the player declines arbitration, a team who then signs one of these players would have to give up a first or second round pick. So if Braves P Rafael Soriano accepts arbitration he would automatically have a deal in place with the Braves for next season for 1-year. The terms of the deal may have to be worked out by an arbitrator though. If he rejects the offer, and another team, say the Cubs, sign him, then the Braves would receive a draft pick from the Cubs (1st or 2nd-round, but it can’t be one of the top 15 picks of the draft since those picks are protected. Teams can sign multiple Type A free agents, like the Yankees of 2008 with Teixeira, Sabathia & Burnett, but the draft picks vary depending on many factors. Signing a Type B free agent is a little more clear as teams that lose the player will receive a supplemental round pick in return. (that round follows the first round in the draft) Here is the list of the Type A & Type B players that were offered arbitration. Remember, last year, only 2 players (the Reds P David Weathers & Angels P Darren Oliver accepted arbitration.



Type A

INF Chone Figgins LAA
P John Lackey LAA
OF Jason Bay BOS
SS Marco Scutaro TOR
P Mike Gonzalez ATL
P Rafael Soriano ATL
OF Matt Holliday STL
P Billy Wagner BOS
P Jose Valverde HOU
P Rafael Betancourt COL

Type B

C Rod Barajas TOR
P Justin Duchscherer OAK
P Joel Pineiro STL
3B Mark DeRosa STL
3B Adrian Beltre SEA
C Ivan Rodriguez TEX
OF Marlon Byrd TEX
P Brandon Lyon DET
C Gregg Zaun TB
P Jason Marquis COL
P Brian Shouse TB
P Fernando Rodney DET
P Carl Pavano MIN

Some teams like the Dodgers didn’t offer arbitration to any of the 15 eligible, so it’s a gamble for some teams & for others, they just move on.