D-Backs avoid hard feelings with Rojas
On Thursday, Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes made national headlines for his criticism of the Brewers’ organization after the two sides went to arbitration. By winning that case, the Brewers saved $740,000, but in the process drove a chasm between themselves and their best player.
“There’s no denying that the relationship was definitely hurt from what (transpired) over the last couple of weeks,” Burnes said.
Unless sides come to an agreement to avoid them, arbitration cases are used to determine salaries for players in the three seasons (in some cases, four seasons) before they hit free agency. In other words, they’re an inevitable part of the sport. That, though, can bring uncomfortable moments, like the Burnes case. By their very nature, the hearings require clubs to argue that their own players are worse than perceived. Unlike the Brewers, though, the Diamondbacks appear to have straddled that line in their lone arbitration hearing this week.
Earlier this off-season, the club avoided arbitration with Zac Gallen, Christian Walker, Carson Kelly, Kyle Lewis and Cole Sulser. That left only third baseman Josh Rojas, who filed at $2.9 million, while the Diamondbacks filed at $2.575 million. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the Diamondbacks, saving the club $325,000.
Perhaps the bigger success is that it seemingly maintained its relationship with Rojas in the process.
“I would have taken a win, that’s for sure,” Rojas said. “But it was a good experience. I was happy with the initial offer but there was some money left out on the table that we felt like we could win and I felt like I was in a win-win situation. And so, me and my agent decided that we were going to go and try to fight and make a case for a little bit more money and the D-Backs came out on top.”
Rojas added that he appreciated Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen flying in to St. Petersburg, Fla., to be present at the hearings.
After the hearing, Hazen met with Rojas, giving him the chance to share any hard feelings.
“I feel like that I can’t sit here and talk about accountability and not be accountable myself,” Hazen said. “That’s kind of how I feel about it. And so through that process, if there’s disagreements on what was said, how it was said, all those things, then I need to own up to those things.”
Rojas, though, didn’t seem to have any hard feelings.
Initially, he said, the sides were only $25-30,000 apart. In the arbitration process, that number widens because the sides only need to convince the arbitrator that their valuation is close to reality than the other side’s. Still, Rojas felt a mutual respect throughout, even as the club argued its case against him.
“I know what I’m signing up for and I knew when I went in there that their job is to win,” Rojas said. “We’re not gonna sign up for arbitration and they go in and say, yeah, you’re good, you deserve the money. That’s not what we’re signing up for.”
That attitude falls in line with a general maturity that Rojas has displayed throughout his career, even during prolonged team or individual struggles. It also stood out to Hazen after Tuesday’s hearing.
“He’s a pro about it,” Hazen said.