Baltimore Orioles: Arbitration-Eligible Players Looking Expensive
May 16, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Baltimore Orioles players J.J. Hardy (2) and Steve Clevenger (45) and Adam Jones (10) and Chris Tillman (30) celebrate after beating the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Baltimore defeated the Royals 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
The focus of Baltimore Orioles news on Friday took a welcomed shift away from the Dan Duquette saga to that of some settlements with arbitration-eligible players – of which there are 11 this year. No other team is facing this “pig in the python” to the extent as are the Orioles.
A total of five of the 11 players have come to terms with the Birds on one-year contracts, including the two biggies: Chris Davis and Matt Wieters. And it is looking to be plenty expensive for the Orioles.
Chris Davis, in spite of his .196 average and other statistical drops and trials, saw his salary increase from $10.35 million to $12 million. And Matt Wieters, in spite of missing most of the season with his elbow injury and surgery, is seeing an increase from $7.7 million to $8.3 million.
Also coming to terms was Chris Tillman at $4.315 million, and Tommy Hunter (4.65) and Brian Matusz (3.2).
Salary figures were also exchanged with the remaining six arbitration-eligible players. Totaling them together, the players submitted amounts of $30.95 million. The Orioles countered those submissions with offers totaling $20.1 million. That is quite a difference. The largest gaps were with Budd Norris – $10.25 versus $7.5 million, and Steve Pearce — $5.4 versus $2 million.
Presuming the final numbers for these six were to eventuate at a sum exactly in the middle, that would total $25.525 million. Add that to the total of $32.465 for the five who have reached agreement, and the grand tally is $57.99 million.
At first glance, that seems pretty bad. But it is actually only $1.1 million above the Matt Swartz projection on MLBTR.com – using a formula that has proven to be very accurate in recent years.
To put all of this into a chart, this is what it looks like:
| Name | 2014 Salary | Projected 2015 | Actual 2015 |
| Alejando De Aza | $4.25M | $5.9M | TBD |
| Matt Wieters | $7.7M | $7.9M | $8.3M |
| Steve Pearce | $700K | $2.2M | TBD |
| Bud Norris | $5.3M | $8.7M | TBD |
| Tommy Hunter | $3.0M | $4.4M | $4.65M |
| Chris Davis | $10.35M | $11.8M | $12M |
| Brian Matusz | $2.4M | $2.7M | $3.2M |
| Chris Tillman | $546K | $5.4M | $4.315M |
| Miguel Gonzalez | $529K | $3.7M | TBD |
| Ryan Flaherty | $513K | $1.0M | TBD |
| Zach Britton | $522K | $3.2M | TBD |
| Totals | $32M | $56.9M | TBD |
All of this affects the possible situation with Colby Rasmus. It would appear that he and his agent are working to get him a bigger deal than whatever one-year offer the Orioles have laid out. Nori Aoki is gone now to the Giants, and there is no Baltimore interest in Ichero. Chances remain good that Rasmus ends up with the O’s – for better or worse – though if these salaries fall out too far in the direction of the players, maybe even that won’t work out.