photo: Jack Flaherty via Zoom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The holiday week was especially quiet for the St. Louis Cardinals as Winter Warm-Up approaches. Our weekly history feature reviews the team’s activity in prior player salary arbitration hearings. A busy 2023 in that area appears just ahead.
News and Notes from the Offseason
Autograph tickets for the Annual Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up are on sale. From January 14-16, more than 40 players and coaches will be on hand at Busch Stadium to sign autographs, including Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman and more. Also scheduled to appear for autographs is new Cardinal Willson Contreras as well as top prospect Jordan Walker. Free tickets for selected individuals will become available on January 6.
The tickets will be issued electronically via the MLB Ballpark app. For more information check the Cardinals website at mlb.com/cardinals/fans/winter-warm-up . You can purchase tickets there as well as view the Autograph Schedule.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report as the hot stove remains cold.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The 2022-23 offseason continues. While many other teams have been active during this offseason, the Cardinals have been inactive since the signing of Willson Contreras. Time still remains, however.
The next dates on the offseason calendar of note have to do with player arbitration. January 13 is the deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to submit salary figures. Prior to that date the parties are free to come to an agreement on the player’s salary for 2023 and avoid arbitration. After January 13, if no agreement is reached, the matter is scheduled for an arbitration hearing to take place sometime in February. The parties may still reach agreement after that date and avoid the hearing.
The Cardinals have 10 arbitration eligible players. They are Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Chris Stratton, Jordan Hicks, Dakota Hudson, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Ryan Helsley, Andrew Knizner, and Genesis Cabrera.
The Cardinals and Stratton have already reached an agreement for his 2023 salary, a one-year deal for $2.8 million announced on November 17. Stratton, along with Montgomery, Flaherty, and Hicks, are in their final year of arbitration eligibility.
Hudson and O’Neill are in their second year of eligibility. Edman, Helsley, Knizner, and Cabrera are first year eligible.
Other dates:
- January 14-16 – Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up.
- January 15 – The international signing period begins.
- January 24 – The 2023 inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
Blast from the Past
The beginning of a new year in the Major League Baseball world signals the march toward Spring Training and a new season on the horizon. In particular, the month of January is the time when player arbitration becomes front and center. The first act of the arbitration process is the date for teams and players to submit salary figures. For 2023, that date is January 13.
The submission of salary figures begins the hearing process. While hearings for all arbitration eligible players will be scheduled during February, the ability to avoid that hearing still exists. Up until the time of the hearing, the parties can come to an agreement on the salary. Frequently, this occurs.
Since the implementation of the salary arbitration system in major league baseball in 1974, the Cardinals have gone to hearing with a player 18 times. This week’s Blast from the Past takes a look at the history of the team at salary arbitration hearings.
Of the 18 hearings, the Cardinals record is 11 wins and seven losses. Nine of those wins occurred during the period 1975-1999. There was a lengthy period during which there were no hearings at all. After 1999, the Cardinals did not have a case go to hearing again until 2017.
The very first arbitration hearing between the Cardinals and a player was in 1975. That player was Ray Sadecki, a left-handed pitcher the Cardinals signed in 1958. He remained with the team until 1966, when he was traded to the Giants for Orlando Cepeda. Sadecki returned to the Cardinals in 1974 in a trade with the Mets which sent Joe Torre to New York.
Sadecki won his arbitration case in 1975 and was then traded for the second time in May 1975 to the Braves.
The Cardinals won nine of their next 14 hearings from 1980 to 1999. Included in those wins were hearings with Ozzie Smith (1982), Jose Oquendo (1988), and Vince Coleman (1989).
Five more losses occurred during that same time period, including to Ricky Horton in 1986 and Terry Pendleton in 1990. The final loss in that time period was to Gregg Jeffries in 1994.
The last case that went to hearing during that time span was a win over Darren Oliver in 1999. The left-handed pitcher became a free agent at the end of that season.
There were no more hearings for the Cardinals until Michael Wacha in 2017. Wacha asked for a salary of $3.2 million and the Cardinals offered $2.775 million. The arbitrator decided in favor of the team.
The next hearing took place was in 2021 when Jack Flaherty’s case went to an arbitrator. The Cardinals offered a salary of $3.0 million and Flaherty countered with a figure of $3.9 million. Flaherty prevailed at the hearing, giving the Cardinals their first loss since Jeffries in 1994.
In 2022, Tyler O’Neill and the Cardinals were unable to settle their dispute and went to an arbitration hearing. O’Neill did not prevail in this case. O’Neill had requested a salary of $4.15 million. The Cardinals offered $3.4 million, which the arbitrator in that case agreed with.
The 2023 season has the potential for additional hearings. Nine arbitration eligible players are set to make their salary demands on January 13. One arbitration eligible player, Chris Stratton, has already agreed to a salary for the 2023 season. Included in those nine players are both Flaherty and O’Neill. The remaining seven players include four who are entering the arbitration system for the first time (all named above). It will be an active arbitration season.
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