Written by Amit Lal
| 19 January 2010
After a flurry of signings on Monday, there are still 38 arbitration-eligible players who were unable to reach a contract agreement with their teams. Last year, only three cases actually went to arbitration, so there is a good chance that most of these will be settled before the February decision dates.
The entire list of arbitration figures is presented below:
| Player |
Asked |
Offered |
Team |
| Joe Saunders, SP |
$3,850,000 |
$3,600,000 |
Angels |
| Maicer Izturis, 2B |
$3,000,000 |
$2,300,000 |
Angels |
| Erick Aybar, SS |
$2,750,000 |
$1,800,000 |
Angels |
| Jeff Mathis, C |
$1,300,000 |
$700,000 |
Angels |
| Wandy Rodriguez, SP |
$7,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
Astros |
| Hunter Pence, OF |
$4,100,000 |
$3,100,000 |
Astros |
| Tim Byrdak, RP |
$1,900,000 |
$1,300,000 |
Astros |
| Michael Wuertz, RP |
$2,900,000 |
$1,900,000 |
Athletics |
| Corey Hart, OF |
$4,800,000 |
$4,150,000 |
Brewers |
| David Bush, SP |
$4,450,000 |
$4,125,000 |
Brewers |
| Todd Coffey, RP |
$2,450,000 |
$1,700,000 |
Brewers |
| Carlos Villanueva, RP |
$1,075,000 |
$800,000 |
Brewers |
| Skip Schumaker, 2B |
$2,750,000 |
$1,450,000 |
Cardinals |
| Ryan Theriot, SS |
$3,400,000 |
$2,600,000 |
Cubs |
| Carlos Marmol, RP |
$2,500,000 |
$1,750,000 |
Cubs |
| Sean Marshall, RP |
$1,175,000 |
$800,000 |
Cubs |
| Edwin Jackson, SP |
$6,250,000 |
$4,600,000 |
D'Backs |
| Tim Lincecum, SP |
$13,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
Giants |
| Brian Wilson, RP |
$4,875,000 |
$4,000,000 |
Giants |
| Casey Kotchman, 1B |
$3,900,000 |
$3,135,000 |
Mariners |
| Brandon League,RP |
$1,325,000 |
$900,000 |
Mariners |
| Josh Johnson, SP |
$5,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
Marlins |
| Cody Ross, OF |
$4,450,000 |
$4,200,000 |
Marlins |
| Angel Pagan, OF |
$1,800,000 |
$1,275,000 |
Mets |
| Brian Bruney, RP |
$1,850,000 |
$1,500,000 |
Nationals |
| Sean Burnett, RP |
$925,000 |
$775,000 |
Nationals |
| Jeremy Guthrie, SP |
$3,625,000 |
$2,300,000 |
Orioles |
| Scott Hairston, OF |
$2,900,000 |
$2,100,000 |
Padres |
| Mike Adams, RP |
$1,200,000 |
$875,000 |
Padres |
| Joe Blanton, SP |
$10,250,000 |
$7,500,000 |
Phillies |
| Shane Victorino, OF |
$5,800,000 |
$4,750,000 |
Phillies |
| Carlos Ruiz, C |
$2,500,000 |
$1,700,000 |
Phillies |
| Frank Francisco, RP |
$3,600,000 |
$3,000,000 |
Rangers |
| Scott Feldman, SP |
$2,900,000 |
$2,050,000 |
Rangers |
| B.J. Upton, OF |
$3,300,000 |
$3,000,000 |
Rays |
| Jeremy Hermida, OF |
$3,850,000 |
$2,950,000 |
Red Sox |
| Ramon Ramirez, RP |
$1,250,000 |
$1,060,000 |
Red Sox |
| Justin Verlander, SP |
$9,500,000 |
$6,900,000 |
Tigers |
The most prominent arbitration filers include Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (asking for a record $13M), Joe Blanton ($10.5M), and Justin Verlander ($9.5M). The Diamondbacks reached late agreements with all of their arbitration eligible players (Chad Qualls, $4.185M; Stephen Drew, $3.4M; Conor Jackson, $3.1M; Aaron Heilman, $2.15M) except for one, Edwin Jackson.
Edwin Jackson
Jackson submitted a figure of $6.25M, while the Diamondbacks offered $4.6M. Jackson finished 2010 with 4 years and 70 days of service time (abbreviated 4.70), and earned a salary of $2.2M in 2009. Who are some comparable pitchers to Jackson in terms of quality (214 IP, 3.62 ERA, 127 ERA+) and service time, and what salaries have they been offered?
Comparable Players Signed This Year
This year, Jorge De La Rosa just signed a 1 yr, $5.6M contract with the Rockies. De La Rosa went 16-9 in 2009, with a 4.38 ERA (105 ERA+). His season was probably a little worse than Jackson's, but De La Rosa had a little more service time, 5.015 seasons.
Jered Weaver (16-8, 3.75 ERA, 211 IP, 120 ERA+) signed a 1 yr deal for $4.265M after 3.129 years of service time.
Another pitcher who filed for arbitration is similar to Jackson - Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez has 4.105 years of service time, and was 14-12 in 2009, with a 3.02 ERA in 206 IP (130 ERA+). Rodriguez has a slightly better record than Jackson, and asked for a higher amount, $7M, while the Astros offered $5M.
Comparable Contracts from Last Year
After the 2008 season, Zach Greinke was arbitration eligible with 4.057 years of service time, and signed a 4 year, $38M contract with the Royals. Greinke was coming off a 202 IP, 3.46 ERA season (126 ERA+), not too different than Jackson's.
After 2008, Ervin Santana had 3.104 years of service time, and had completed a 219 IP, 3.49 ERA (127 ERA+) season, and signed a 4 year, $30M deal.
After 2008, Erik Bedard had completed an injury-plagued season with 81 IP and a 3.67 ERA (115 ERA+), and signed a 1 year, $7.75M contract. Bedard had completed 5.171 years of service time at that point.
In 2008, Todd Wellemeyer had completed a slightly worse season that Jackson - 192 IP, 3.71 ERA (115 ERA+) and signed a $4.05M contract.
Conclusions
So where does Edwin Jackson fit in? Jackson could probably argue that he is better than Jorge De La Rosa, who just signed a $5.6M contract, with just a little more service time than Jackson. Jackson could also claim a better record than Jered Weaver, who signed for $4.265M with only 3.129 years of service time. Given these two contracts, the D'Backs offer of $4.6M might be a little low
A lot may depend on Wandy Rodriguez's contract. If Rodriguez splits the difference with the Astros for around $6M, it will be difficult for Jackson to ask for $6.25M in arbitration. Most likely, Jackson and the Diamondbacks will settle in the $5.0-$5.5 range.
