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The calendar has turned to 2018, which means we are entering salary arbitration season, with the Dodgers especially busy the first two weeks of this year.
Nine Dodgers were eligible for salary arbitration this winter. The team agreed to terms with relief pitcher Yimi Garcia to a one-year, $630,000 contract on Dec. 1 to avoid arbitration, leaving eight more players eligible. That group is catcher Yasmani Grandal, starting pitcher Alex Wood, outfielder Joc Pederson, utility man Kiké Hernandez and a quartet of relievers — Luis Avilan, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields and Pedro Baez.
The date and time for players and teams to exchange salaries this year is 10 a.m. PT Friday, January 12. This is not an official deadline by any means, with both sides able to negotiate up to a possible arbitration hearing, which would take place at some point during the first three weeks of February.
But the Dodgers are a “file and trial” team, like several others, meaning if an agreement isn’t reached by the exchange date the club will no longer negotiate and will proceed to an arbitration hearing.
Andrew Friedman when he was with the Rays was undefeated in his five arbitration hearings, with the last coming in 2012 with pitcher Jeff Niemann.
Since joining the Dodgers in November 2014, Friedman’s front office has reached agreements with 21 players eligible for salary arbitration in three years and has had no arbitration hearings. All but five of those deals were struck on either on the exchange date or just days before.
Should the player and team require an arbitration hearing, each side will argue their case before a three-person panel, with the panel deciding one salary or the other; nothing in between.
The last time the Dodgers had an arbitration hearing was in 2007, when Joe Beimel was seeking $1.25 million but lost his case to the Dodgers, who paid him $912,500.
Here are the nine players eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, with their 2017 salaries and 2018 projections from MLB Trade Rumors.
Dodgers 2018 salary arbitration tracker
| Player | Service Time | 2017 salary | MLBTR projections | 2018 salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Service Time | 2017 salary | MLBTR projections | 2018 salary |
| Yasmani Grandal | 5.115 | $5,500,000 | $7,700,000 | |
| Alex Wood | 4.123 | $2,800,000 | $6,400,000 | |
| Luis Avilan | 4.146 | $1,500,000 | $2,300,000 | |
| Tony Cingrani | 4.088 | $1,825,000 | $2,200,000 | |
| Josh Fields | 4.083 | $1,050,000 | $2,200,000 | |
| Joc Pederson | 3.023 | $555,000 | $2,000,000 | |
| Pedro Baez | 3.059 | $550,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Kiké Hernandez | 3.054 | $550,000 | $1,300,000 | |
| Yimi Garcia | 3.004 | $550,000 | $700,000 | $630,000 |
Over the next week we will analyze each player’s salary arbitration in depth.