So, a little more to the Arbitration numbers, not sure if true but it makes sense when you consider Boras and Skubals role in the union.
I have thought for a while that McCosky has taken the Henning role of getting things out there for the team. This may be one of those times.
# McCosky: Facts minus context clouding run-up to Skubal arbitration hearing
Full article at link.
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was $19.8 million.
Accurate. And incomplete. And misrepresentative of the truth.
For context, here’s how this process works:
The Tigers, in negotiations with Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, offered $19.8 million well ahead of the deadline to file for arbitration. That figure represented the highest yearly increase ($9.8 million) and the highest potential salary ever awarded to a pitcher in the history of the arbitration process.
And it was also just the starting point of the negotiation. At least, that’s what the Tigers thought.
What typically happens is that the Tigers present their offer to the player’s agent as one bookend, and the agent presents a counter bookend offer, generally setting the bookends far apart. Then, through the course of the negotiation, the bookends slide closer to the middle, where an agreement can be reached without taking it to a hearing.
This is the process that played out with the seven other arbitration-eligible players who reached one-year agreements with the Tigers last week — with Casey Mize, Will Vest, Zach McKinstry, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter and Tyler Holton. The Tigers offered a lower bid and their agent offered a higher one.
In each case, the two sides worked their way to the middle and reached a deal.
That didn’t happen with Boras.
The Tigers offered $19.8 million, and Boras, according to the two sources, did not counter. The negotiations ended there.
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… But Boras shut it down. Radio silence. So, at the deadline, they filed at $19 million.
The first time the Tigers saw his $32 million salary bid was when they exchanged numbers late Thursday night, numbers that went straight to the league and formed the parameters of the arbitration case that will be heard in late January or early February.
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…It’s been a pretty one-sided narrative, as dealings between agents and teams tend to be. Most organizations, like the Tigers, have a policy of not discussing negotiations publicly. Harris, from day one, has steadfastly refused to talk, even in general terms, about any ongoing negotiations.
So, information like the $19.8 million offer gets out, backdropped by the $13 million gap between Skubal and the Tigers, and it paints an ugly, albeit incomplete and unfair, picture for the fan base.
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But there might be a higher, broader aim here.
It feels to me like Boras is using Skubal as a weapon to blow up the arbitration system. He’s long been opposed to it, as has the players’ association, and with the collective bargaining agreement expiring after this season, he’s got the perfect player and the perfect case to expose what he perceives as the folly of the arbitration process.
I could be wrong about that. But it would explain his silence and unwillingness to haggle ahead of submitting salary numbers. And it would explain his record ask of $32 million. He’s taking a risk sending that number and a $13 million gap to the arbitration.
But, in doing that, he will force an arbitration panel to make apples-to-oranges comparisons. Like Skubal’s value to that of a position player like Juan Soto. Like pitting a maximum arbitration value for a pitcher against the maximum salary negotiated in free agency.
He’s effectively created a near-no-win situation for the team. And if that helps trigger some eventual tweaking or scrapping of the arbitration system in the next CBA, it will be viewed as a win for him and the players.
Boras isn’t wrong about the arbitration system. It is outdated, inequitable and a general nuisance for both the teams and players. And with Skubal, he’s got an immensely talented, high-profile player, who just happens to be a high-ranking member of the MLB players’ association, to help illuminate his point.
Then, as if to ensure a precedent-setting, high-drama hearing, he’s created the $13 million salary gap between his player and the team.
I fully believe a one-year deal could be reached without arbitration. I also believe Boras has no interest in doing that. He wants this, in my opinion, to be the eventual death-knell of the arbitration system.
As for any potential fracturing between Skubal and the Tigers, it’s not likely to happen.
