Buster Olney of ESPN.com explains why, “The arbitration process is now outdated,” as a high-ranking MLB executive told him.
…he makes an excellent point… from what i understand, last july, before the trade deadline, Mark Teahen was discussed a lot, because he fits the mold of what olney is saying, which is, he is a good player, not great, but still with upside, but also due too much money through arbitration the next two seasons for the Royals to justify keeping him around, but enough money for a team like the Mets or Yankees to take a chance on… Jeff Francoeur fit in to this bucket as well, when with the Braves… as does Marlins OF Jeremy Hermida this off season…
…in the end, what could end up happening, say with teahen, is, the Royals might decide they are unable to afford him and so they’ll first try to trade him to a team like, say, the Mets, for a low-level minor leaguer… if no team bites, the Royals can non-tender him, making him a free agent… the Royals get nothing in return, but they also know they are free from the likely $4 million bill that could have come along with him… meanwhile, teahen can sign as a free agent with a new team, who now must take on the responsibility of his final two years or arbitration…
In his report, Olney lists Brewers SS J.J. Hardy among two players in a similar situation, and whose contract might get him non-tendered.
For a list of other players who could find themselves non-tendered, and free agents, such as Garrett Atkins, Mike Fontenot, Ryan Garko, Conor Jackson and Delmon Young, check out this October post from MLB Trade Rumors.
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Just to be clear, if he is non-tendered, he will sign a FA deal for whatever he can get for 2010, and then be eligible for arbitration after the 2010 season, right?
Or IOW, the FA deal now replaces his current arb rights?
I don’t get the love for Teahan. Of the players mentioned in the post, Hardy (who i would stick in LF) and Jackson (who I would platoon with Murphy) make the most sense.
Stickguy, you are correct. Teahan still has two years before he is a full fledged FA.
He can: 1) sign a one year deal after which he would still be under team control for one more year of arbitration or a mutually agreed-to deal, or 2) sign a deal of at least two years and become a FA after that, still subject to his team offering arbitration.
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