Texas Rangers will look into arbitration issue after Adrian Beltre signing
The time for signing players is about to come to a close in a month’s time. The spring training session will start in the middle of February, and for the Texas Rangers, that means they must sign Adrian Beltre quickly.
However, that isn’t the only issue facing the Rangers. There is the small matter of an arbitration process. The team has arbitration eligible players in pitchers Darren O’Day and C. J. Wilson, and outfielders Josh Hamilton, David Murphy and Nelson Cruz.
The players have the option of demanding a raise through the process, and can file for the clause as early as Wednesday.
The process involves players who have been with the club between three to six years. The eligible players can file for a raise by sending their expected salary figures to an arbitration panel. The three-member panel will then ask the club to provide their
figures for ideal salary packages. The panel then ultimately works out an amount it determines as the accurate value, and declares it as the salary amount for the coming season.
The Rangers will be hoping to avoid the situation entirely. The last time a situation like this came to the front was back in 2000, when Lee Stevens filed for arbitration and got a panel verdict on his salary clause. The dilemma for the Texas ball club comes
in the form of contract extensions. It could be considered viable for the two parties to come to terms on a salary package for a year, but it’s even more significant if a multi-year deal is worked out instead.
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels spoke on the issue recently, and he believes the contracts will need to be examined for better consideration. The team’s biggest challenge will come in the form of retaining C. J. Wilson next year. He will be heading over
to the free agency once the 2011 campaign ends; and that spells trouble for the Rangers’.
The pitcher, who posted figures of 15 wins and 8 losses, has managed an Earning runs average of 3.35 in 206 inning appearances. In addition to that, Josh Hamilton who won last year’s American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) accolade, will be eligible for
the free agency in 2012. The club has pursued a contract extension deal with the outfielder, but nothing positive has come from the negotiations at the moment.
Only time will tell how the Rangers will cope with the matter in the coming weeks.
Tags: