Brewers: Deals reached with Peralta, Torres, but not Anderson.
Peralta, Torres OK’d, but not Anderson
The Milwaukee Brewers reached agreement Friday with arbitration-eligible pitchers Wily Peralta and Carlos Torres on 2017 deals but did not come to terms with right-hander Chase Anderson.
Peralta signed for $4.275 million, but Torres’ settlement figure was not immediately known. He was projected to receive a $2 million salary.
There was a noon Friday deadline for teams to come to terms with arbitration-eligible players or have the sides exchange figures for possible hearings in February. Anderson is a “Super 2” player, meaning he is shy of the usual three years required for arbitration, but general manager David Stearns said that was not an issue in failing to come to terms.
“I don’t know that particular class makes it any easier or tougher to come to terms,” said Stearns, who had not been apprised of the difference in figures filed when contacted for comment.
“The way the particular salary structure lays out, sometimes there’s overlap in how the club sees it and the player sees it, and sometimes there’s not. At this point, there hasn’t been an overlap.”
Anderson, who made $520,200 last season, filed for a $2.85 million salary after failing to reach an agreement. The Brewers filed at $2.45 million, leaving a $400,000 gap.
In his first winter as the Brewers’ general manager, Stearns had no arbitration cases make it to the filing stage. Now that he has a player at that point, he said he preferred not to announce whether he’d be willing to continue negotiating or merely prepare for a hearing.
“We’re not going to announce our strategy,” he said. “I’m not comfortable doing that, so we’re going to keep our negotiation strategy in-house.
“Generally, arbitration negotiations do go down to the deadline and our three outstanding cases came down to the final day. It’s always nice to settle cases pre-exchange, but we understand that exchanging (figures) and going to hearings is part of the process, so we’re prepared to do that as well.”
The Brewers have not been to a hearing since 2012, when reliever Jose Veras lost his case but emerged with a $2 million deal
As often happens in arbitration, Peralta, received a nice raise from his 2016 salary of $2.8 million despite having a tough season. He got off to a horrible start, going 4-7 with a 6.68 ERA in 13 games, and was sent down to Class AAA Colorado Springs for nearly two months.
Upon his return to the Brewers, he pitched much better, posting a 2.92 ERA over 10 games and reestablishing a place in the rotation to finish at 7-11, 4.86 for the season.
Torres, 34, who made $950,000 in 2016, was the workhorse of the bullpen, leading the team with 72 appearances. He ranked second among relievers in the National League with 82 innings pitched, allowing only 65 hits and 30 walks while posting a 2.73 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 1.154 WHIP.
Anderson, 29, went 9-11 with a 4.39 earned run average in 31 games (30 starts). He pitched 151 innings, allowing 155 hits, including 28 home runs, with 53 walks, 120 strikeouts and a 1.371 WHIP.
As for the possibility of having a hearing, Stearns said, “It’s how the game is structured. We know it’s a possibility. The player knows it’s a possibility.
“It’s often a healthy part of the process when there are legitimate disagreements about where the player falls in the salary structure. Hearings are often the best way to find a remedy.”
The Brewers originally had eight players eligible for arbitration, but first baseman Chris Carter was nontendered to avoid what figured to be a huge raise from his $2.5 million salary, and reliever Tyler Thornburg and catcher Martin Maldonado were traded to Boston and the Los Angeles Angels, respectively.
Second baseman Scooter Gennett ($2.525 million) and outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis ($900,000 on a split contract) signed in December to avoid non-tender scenarios.
Stearns said he was in on talks with some of the late-inning relievers who signed free-agent deals with other clubs recently and would continue to explore possibilities.
“We’re still engaged with a number of different relievers, both from a major-league free agency perspective, a trade perspective, a minor-league perspective, he said. “So, we’re still active in the market.”
Earlier in the day, Stearns reached an understanding with right-hander Junior Guerra not to pitch in the Venezuelan Winter League playoffs. Guerra expressed a desire to pitch for La Guaira as that team tries to advance to the Caribbean Series, but the Brewers preferred him to rest and prepare for spring training.
Guerra, 32, pitched a full season in the majors for the first time in 2016 and also spent time on the disabled list with an ailing elbow in the second half.