Jansen, Melancon, other closers land big paydays on arbitration filing day
Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon are among the closers to land big paydays Friday, the deadline for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to file salary figures.
By
Mike Axisa
•
4 min read
Friday afternoon was the deadline for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to file salary figures for 2016. More than 150 players are eligible for arbitration this offseason, including Dallas Keuchel and Jake Arrieta, last year's two Cy Young Award winners.
The vast majority of those arbitration-eligible players agreed to 2016 contracts prior to the filing deadline. Keuchel, for example, agreed to a $7.25 million salary, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. A few players will sign multiyear extensions, like Dee Gordon earlier this week, and a few will actually go to an arbitration hearing.
The arbitration process is fairly antiquated. Salaries are driven by old school stats like batting average and RBI and pitcher wins, that sort of thing. Position players who derive a lot of value from defense are at a disadvantage. Defense doesn't pay much through arbitration. Non-closing relievers get hosed, too.
Closers, however, make big time money through arbitration. Saves pay handsomely, so closers have a lot of leverage when they sit down with their team to discuss a new contract. Decent closers routinely made two or three times as much as elite setup men. The system is very flawed.
So, as always, several closers cashed in on arbitration filing day this year. No one set any records -- Jonathan Papelbon owns most reliever arbitration records -- but many ninth-inning guys landed significant salaries for 2016. Here's a rundown.
THIRD TIME ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE
Kenley Jansen, Dodgers: $10.65 million (Jon Heyman)
Mark Melancon, Pirates: $9.65 million (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Drew Storen, Blue Jays: $8.375 million (Sportsnet)
Aroldis Chapman, Yankees: Chapman filed for $13.1 million, Yankees for $9 million (Jon Heyman)
Jansen and Melancon have been two of the best relievers in baseball over the last several years, and both landed salaries significantly larger than the $7.75 million average annual value of Darren O'Day's new contract with the Orioles. O'Day, an elite setup man, was a free agent this offseason and he still couldn't land closer money.
Storen may not close for the Blue Jays next season, and heck, he didn't finish last season as a closer with the Nationals thanks to Papelbon, but he has racked up 95 career saves. That earned him a $2.675 million raise from his 2015 salary. (Jansen received a $3.225 million raise, Melancon a $4.25 million raise.)
The Yankees and Chapman, their new closer, didn't come to a contract agreement and instead filed salary figures. Chapman made $8.05 million last season, and it seems like he has a pretty good chance of winning an arbitration hearing. The Yankees are offering a mere $950,000 raise following a season in which Chapman saved 33 games with a 1.63 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. He also went to his fourth straight All-Star Game.
Friday is not a hard deadline to finalize contracts. The Yankees and Chapman can still negotiate a deal of any size between now and the arbitration hearing. But, based on the team's filing figure, it seems like Chapman has no reason to settle for anything under $13.1 million. It sure looks like the Yankees filed way too low.
Regardless of what happens with Chapman, all four of these players will be eligible for free agency next offseason. This winter there were no elite closers in free agency. Next year it looks like there will be three (Jansen, Melancon, Chapman).
SECOND TIME ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE
Zach Britton, Orioles: Britton filed for $7.9 million, Orioles for $5.6 million (Jon Heyman)
Britton is a Super Two player, meaning he will be arbitration-eligible four times instead of the usual three due to his service time level. He earned $3.2 million in 2015 and is seeking a $4.7 million raise, which is quite ambitious. Prior to Melancon's new deal, the record raise for an arbitration-eligible reliever belong to Jim Johnson at $3.88 million.
Since becoming a full-time big leaguer in 2014, Britton has saved 73 games with a 1.77 ERA (228 ERA+) in 142 innings. That's as good as it gets right there. Worst case scenario for Britton is a $5.6 million salary in 2016, setting him up for $8 million or so in 2017 and $10.5 million or so in 2018. If they go to a hearing and he wins? Oh boy. Britton might get $10.5 million in 2017 and $13 million in 2018 in that case.
No other closers were arbitration-eligible for the second time this offseason, though former closer Addison Reed agreed to a $5.3 million deal with the Mets, according to Yahoo! Sports. Reed saved 105 games from 2012 to early 2015 before losing his closer's job. He made $4.875 million in 2015 and those saves still helped his arbitration earning potential even though he's now a setup man.
FIRST TIME ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE
Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals: $5.6 million (Yahoo! Sports)
Hector Rondon, Cubs: $4.2 million (Yahoo! Sports)
Cody Allen, Indians: $4.15 million (Yahoo! Sports)
A.J. Ramos, Marlins: $3.4 million (Jon Heyman)
Jeurys Familia, Mets: Familia filed for $4.8 million, Mets for $3.3 million (Yahoo! Sports)
That first year of arbitration is usually a player's first significant payday. Rosenthal, for example, received a $65,000 signing bonus as a 21st-round pick and has earned something close to the league minimum the last three years. He'll now make $5.6 million next season. Friday was a life-changing day for Rosenthal and his family.
Rondon, Allen, Ramos, and Familia have all been closers for relatively short periods of time. Rondon and Allen have been closing for a bit longer than a year and a half. Familia's been doing it for just short of a full season, and Ramos roughly a half-season. But still, getting some saves on the back of their baseball cards increased their earning potential by millions.
For comparison, consider Brewers southpaw Will Smith. He was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason, and is coming off a season in which he had a 2.70 ERA (147 ERA+) with 91 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings as a setup man. His 2016 salary? Only $1.475 million, per Yahoo! Sports.
Smith was every bit as good as Ramos last season -- Ramos had a 2.30 ERA (169 ERA+) with 87 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings -- but he didn't save any games, so Ramos will earn 2.3 times as much next season. The system is so silly, isn't it? Saves pay. Closing is good work, if you can get it.
