Flaherty, Soroka cash in during arbitration
Tebow gets invite to Mets’ spring training camp
NEW YORK — St. Louis pitcher Jack Flaherty and Atlanta pitcher Mike Soroka won their salary arbitration cases on Saturday, and Tampa Bay reliever Ryan Yarbrough lost.
Flaherty was awarded a raise from from $604,500 to $3.9 million by arbitrators Howard Edelman, Steven Wolf and Walt De Treux, who heard arguments Feb. 5. The Cardinals had submitted $3 million.
Soroka was given a raise from $583,500 to $2.8 million by arbitrators Frederic Horowitz, Margaret Brogan and Robert Herzog, who heard arguments Friday. The Braves had argued for $2.1 million.
Yarbrough received a raise from $578,500 to $2.3 million from arbitrators Allen Ponak, Mark Burstein and Jules Bloch rather than his request for $3.1 million.
Players and teams have split six decisions. The New York Mets defeated third baseman and outfielder J.D. Davis and the Baltimore Orioles beat outfielder Anthony Santander. First baseman Ji-Man Choi defeated the Rays.
Four players remain scheduled for hearings next week: Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, San Francisco second baseman Donovan Solano and Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson.
All cases are being argued over Zoom this year due to the pandemic rather than in person.
METS: Tim Tebow has been invited to big league spring training by New York, taking one of 75 spots after Major League Baseball limited spring roster sizes as a coronavirus precaution.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner returned to baseball in 2016 for the first time since his junior year of high school and played 77 games at Triple-A in 2019 before the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season.
A lefty-hitting outfielder, the 33-year-old Tebow batted .163 with four homers and 19 RBIs two years ago with Syracuse. He’s been invited to major league spring training each of the past four years and has hit .151 in 34 games, connecting for his first and only homer last spring before camps were closed.
Despite the poor numbers, Tebow was among the 28 nonroster spring invitees announced by New York on Saturday. The majority of minor league players won’t report to camps until the big leaguers depart for opening day April 1.
Tebow, who also dealt with injuries in 2018 and ’19, said last spring that he wasn’t ready to give up on his dream of reaching the majors.
“That would obviously be something that would be special, and I think another part of the dream,” Tebow said. “Part of it’s just playing every day and enjoying it and competing, which I love. Obviously, that would be awesome. It would be a lie if I said that wouldn’t be super cool. … But I wouldn’t say it would be a success or failure if that did or did not happen.”
■ Also, the Mets’ pitching staff took a hit before the start of spring training when the team announced Saturday that Seth Lugo needs elbow surgery and will miss the start of the season.
An MRI revealed a bone spur in the right-hander’s pitching elbow. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Lugo will not throw for six weeks, then will be assessed and transition to a throwing program. That timeline means the earliest he would start to throw would be about opening day on April 1. He will not be game ready until well into the season.
YANKEES: Outfielder Jay Bruce agreed Saturday to a minor league contract with New York and will try to win a job at big league spring training.
The 33-year-old has an opportunity as a left-handed bat in a primarily right-handed lineup. The Yankees’ outfield features switch-hitter center fielder Aaron Hicks and right-handed-hitting right fielder Aaron Judge.
ORIOLES: Matt Harvey will try to revive his career with Baltimore.
The 31-year-old right-hander agreed Saturday to a minor league contract with the O’s. He would get a $1 million, one-year deal if added to the 40-man roster, and would have the chance to earn performance bonuses.
Harvey was 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA in four starts and three relief appearances for the Kansas City Royals last year. His fastball averaged 94.5 mph, down from 97 mph in 2013 when he was an All-Star with the Mets.