Betts’ solution? Trial
The Red Sox are saving the best for last.
Yesterday was the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to exchange numbers with their teams, and the Red Sox agreed to terms with all of their eligible players except for one: Mookie Betts.
Nine other Red Sox avoided arbitration yesterday, including Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Drew Pomeranz. Three others had previously agreed to terms. Betts is the lone holdout and it’s surely no coincidence that he’s the most complicated case.
Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in an email that the Red Sox plan to have an arbitration hearing with Betts. The team could continue negotiating, but it has taken a “file and trial” approach that’s used by many teams. It means they stop negotiations as soon as figures are exchanged.
Dombrowski said player agents were aware of the team’s approach, so when the Red Sox and Betts could not come to an agreement, a trial became inevitable.
Betts has been one of the best all-around players in baseball the past two years, but because he has just three full years of service time, he’s never made as much as $1 million in a season.
MLB Trade Rumors, which has a fairly reliable model for predicting arbitration salaries, has predicted Betts will make roughly $8.2 million this year. He will have two more years of arbitration before becoming a free agent, assuming he doesn’t sign a long-term extension first.
Arbitration trials are often uncomfortable for both sides, as the team and player make their cases for why a salary should be higher or lower, meaning teams end up telling their own players about their deficiencies. No matter what happens at trial, Betts is under contract. The only question is his salary.
Because of Betts’ high-end performance at such a young age, his case is more extreme than most. The rest of the Red Sox’ arbitration-eligible players were more common.
In addition to Bogaerts, Bradley Jr. and Pomeranz, the Red Sox avoided arbitration with Joe Kelly, Tyler Thornburg, Brock Holt, Sandy Leon, Steven Wright, Brandon Workman, Christian Vazquez, Carson Smith and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Sox notes
Dustin Pedroia, who underwent knee surgery in October, isn’t ruling out a return for Opening Day, even if the team said he would be out until midMay.
“I’m hoping I get cleared next Wednesday to start running and get after it,” he told WEEI. “And that way, that leaves me enough time to get to spring training to where I’m a part of it from the get go.” …
Sox minor league pitcher Antonio Police was suspended 72 games after a positive test for the performance enhancing drug Boldenone.