Friday was for the Los Angeles Dodgers as not only did they add a number of prospects at the start of the 2020-21 international signing period, but they also agreed to contracts with a handful of their arbitration-eligible players ahead of the deadline.
Among them were Dylan Floro, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Julio Urias. Newly-acquired reliever Corey Knebel has also reportedly agreed to a deal, avoiding arbitration, although the club has yet to announce it.
Scott Alexander was also arbitration-eligible but signed a deal for the 2021 season earlier in the winter. The only Dodgers players who were not able to avoid arbitration were Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes.
According to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group, Buehler filed at $4.15 million for his 2021 salary, while the organization countered at slightly north of $3 million:
Also in his first year of arbitration eligibility, Buehler reportedly seeks a $4.15 million salary while the Dodgers countered with $3.3 million.
The way arbitration works, Buehler and the Dodgers will both go to court and argue why they feel his salary should be what they filed at based on recent statistics, career accomplishments and salaries of other similar players in their first year of eligibility.
The Dodgers saw similar situations with both Max Muncy and Chris Taylor last offseason and were able to agree to multi-year extensions, so it is possible the same happens with Buehler. Buying out his three arbitration years would not delay his free agency, which is set for 2025.
Buehler is coming off another great season, although he was limited a bit due to some blister issues. In eight regular-season starts, he went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA, 4.36 FIP and 0.96 WHIP with 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 36.2 innings.
As usual, Buehler’s finest work came in the postseason when he started five games, going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 12 walks in 25 innings. At just 26 years of age, there is no doubt the organization remains very high on him despite potentially going to arbitration.
Dodgers international signings
The Dodgers added 22 international prospects to the organization, headlined by shortstop Wilman Diaz and catcher Jesus Galiz. Both were ranked among the top players ranked at their positions for the 2020-21 international signing class.
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