Arbitration Filers Get 89 Percent Raise

Published: 17^th Feb 12 1:35 am

by Eric Haftel
Eric Haftel

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Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Arbitration is at it’s finest this season. Players were very happy to see that there was an 89% raise.

With Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw and Pablo Sandoval getting the steepest increases, the overall rise of salaries for players in arbitration slowed to its lowest level since 2007.

The 142 players who filed for arbitration last month averaged an 89 percent increase, according to a study of agreements by The Associated Press. That was down from an average jump of 123 percent last year and was the lowest increase since a 73 percent rise in 1996.

Sandoval received the highest percentage raise among position players. After earning $500,000 last year for the San Francisco Giants, the third baseman agreed to a $17.15 million, three-year contract that averages $5.7 million, an 11-fold hike.

Pitcher Andrew Bailey, traded from Oakland to the Boston Red Sox, received the highest percentage raise among players agreeing to one-year contracts, an eight-fold increase from $465,000 to $3.9 million.

Just 11 players received multiyear contracts, down from 14 last year and the fewest since nine in 2004.

The only players whose salaries went down were Milwaukee reliever Francisco Rodriguez, who went from an average of $12.7 million in a three-year contract to $8 million; and Chicago Cubs third baseman Ian Stewart, who dropped $50,000 to $2,237,500.

The average of this year’s group rose from $1.95 million to $3.7 million, while the average for the 119 players in arbitration last winter increased from $1.68 million to $3.76 million. The total of players in arbitration this year were the most since 150 in 1992.

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