As most baseball fans know, Saturday was the deadline for teams to agree to terms with their non-contracted players in order to avoid arbitration.
For the Dodgers, the good news is that they came to terms with nine of their arbitration-eligible players.
The not good news is that they had ten.
Very noticeably missing from this list is 28-year-old Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who figures to be in the Dodgers Opening Day starting rotation … which brings us back to the good news.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Dodgers ninth-round draft pick in 2016 out of Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, CA is seeking a one-year / $3.4 million deal, to which the Dodgers countered with a one-year / $3 million offer – a difference of only $400,000.
Although $400K would be life-changing money for you and I, it is pretty much a drop in the bucket when you consider the MLB contracts being handed out this offseason. As such, and even though the two sides must now at least begin the arbitration process, it is extremely difficult – if not impossible – to believe that a deal will not quickly be struck .
See you on Opening Day, Goose!
Play Ball!
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I can’t believe the Dodgers would quibble over $400K. Give him the $3.4M and move on.
Arbitration over pay was a mistake from the day owners agreed to include the process in the CBA. Making players earn three years of ML service time (or super two status) before being paid based on their performance is ridiculous. I love the game of baseball, and hate the business of MLB.
In the past, Friedman has had the policy of ending negotiations when numbers are exchanged, although they are open to continuing negotiations for a multi-year contract.