The Los Angeles Dodgers tendered contracts to Yency Almonte, Walker Buehler, Caleb Ferguson, Tony Gonsolin, Brusdar Graterol, Dustin May, Evan Phillips, Will Smith, Trayce Thompson and Julio Urías, which keeps all 10 players under team control for the 2023 season.
The aforementioned players have three or more years of Major League service time but less than six years, which makes them eligible for salary arbitration. However, Gonsolin, Graterol and Phillips are part of a select group of players with two years of service to qualify for arbitration as Super Two players.
Although the Dodgers retain the rights to these players, they are still not officially under contract for the 2023 season. The team will continue to discuss a new contract, and if they have not agreed on a salary by the January 13 deadline, the club and player exchange salary figures for the upcoming season.
After the figures are exchanged, a hearing is scheduled and typically held in February. Generally, after figures are exchanged, the majority of cases are avoided with one- or multi-year contracts.
If no settlement is 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.
Almonte, Gonsolin, Graterol, May, Phillips, Smith and Thompson are all entering their first year of arbitration, which gives the Dodgers three years of team control remaining, except for the Super Two players, who have four years of control.
Buehler and Ferguson are both entering their second season of arbitration, which gives the Dodgers two years of control over them. Buehler is expected to miss at least the majority of the 2023 season, if not all of it, but he is still expected to receive a raise over his 2022 salary.
Urías is entering his final year under team control and should receive the highest salary among the arbitration-eligible players. The Dodgers may also look to negotiate a long-term deal with the southpaw, but Urías’ agent Scott Boras is notorious for having his players test free agency
Dodgers non-tender Cody Bellinger, Edwin Ríos & Luke Williams
In addition to tendering the contracts of 10 players, the Dodgers non-tendered Cody Bellinger, Edwin Ríos and Luke Williams, making each of the three a free agent. The Dodgers are still free to negotiate with all of them, but they are now eligible to sign with any team.
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