The Los Angeles Dodgers have 10 players eligible for salary arbitration who project to recieve raises, including Will Smith, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urías, Walker Buehler and Dustin May.
They entered the offseason with 12 arbitration-eligible players, but that was cut by two when Cody Bellinger and Edwin Ríos were non-tendered. Luke Williams, who was acquired after the offseason began, was also eligible for arbitration this season, but he too was non-tendered.
Bellinger has since signed with the Chicago Cubs, while Ríos and Williams remain free agents.
Of the players who were tendered contracts for the 2023 season, all of them are expected to see raises from their 2022 salaries, via MLB Trade Rumors:
Julio Urias (5.117): $13.7MM
Walker Buehler (4.168): $8.1MM
Caleb Ferguson (4.088): $1.1MM
Yency Almonte (3.143): $1MM
Will Smith (3.090): $5.2MM
Dustin May (3.059): $1.4MM
Trayce Thompson (3.010): $1.7MM
Brusdar Graterol (2.167): $1.2MM
Tony Gonsolin (2.152): $3.5MM
Evan Phillips (2.136): $1.4MM
Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol and Gonsolin are eligible for salary arbitration due to qualifying as Super Two players.
Typically, a player becomes eligible for arbitration after three years of Major League service time, but a select group can also become eligible thanks to the Super Two designation. To qualify, a player must rank in the top 22% in terms of service time among those who have amassed between two and three years in the Majors.
Urías projects to receive the highest salary, and the largest increase from his 2022 salary of $8 million, as he has pitched at a high level and is entering his final year of team control before becoming eligible for free agency.
Buehler is projected to receive the second highest figure despite undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022 that will keep him out for most, if not all, of the season. However, he is only projected for a raise of $100,000 from his salary last season.
Smith should receive the second largest increase from his 2022 salary of $730,000 as he enters his first year of arbitration. The 27-year-old has been among the best catchers in baseball, which is expected to earn him a raise of nearly $5 million.
Yency Almonte, Trayce Thompson and May are all undergoing salary arbitration for the first time in their careers. Ferguson is entering his second year of arbitration.
MLB salary arbitration process
One an eligible player is tendered a contract for the upcoming season, they and the team can continue to negotiate a contract. If they can not agree by a set deadline, which is typically in mid-January, they and the club exchange salary figures.
After the figures are exchanged, a hearing is scheduled and typically held in February. If no settlement can be reached by the hearing date, the case is brought before a panel of arbitrators.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the panel selects either the salary figure of either the player or the club, but not one in between, as the player’s salary for the upcoming season.
The week prior to the exchange of arbitration figures is when the vast majority of arbitration cases are avoided, either by agreeing to a one- or multi-year contract.
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