A’s avoid arbitration with all eligible players

The Oakland A’s won’t need to go to any arbitration hearings this year, as they’ve agreed to terms with all of their remaining eligible players.

The A’s entered the offseason with 10 players eligible for arbitration to determine their 2022 salaries. Before the lockout they signed contracts with three of them (Pinder, Kemp, Guerra), and then after the lockout they traded away three more (Olson, Chapman, Bassitt). On Tuesday the team announced they’ve agreed to one-year deals with the final four players, avoiding arbitration with everybody.

The settlement amounts were later reported for today’s four signings:

• LHP Sean Manaea — $9.75 million (link)
• RHP Frankie Montas — $5.025 million (link)
• RHP Lou Trivino — $3 million (link)
• OF Ramon Laureano — $2.45 million (link)

Of course, Manaea and Montas are still on the trade block, and today’s news doesn’t change that. All that happened is their 2022 salaries were agreed to, regardless of which team they end up pitching for this summer.

See below for the complete list of Oakland players who were eligible for arbitration this winter, and how it all turned out. The number crossed out next to each name is the MLB Trade Rumors projection, followed by the actual amount the player received.

• 1B Matt Olson – $12.0m TRADED
• LHP Sean Manaea – $10.2m (signed: $9.75m)
• 3B Matt Chapman – $9.5m TRADED
• RHP Chris Bassitt – $8.8m TRADED
• RHP Frankie Montas – $5.2m (signed: $5.025m)
• RHP Lou Trivino – $2.9m (signed: $3.0m)
• OF Ramon Laureano – $2.8m (signed: $2.45m)
• UT Chad Pinder – $2.8m (signed: $2.725m)
• 2B Tony Kemp – $2.2MM (signed: $2.25m)
• RHP Deolis Guerra – $900k (signed: $815k)

Remember that these salaries appear lower than you see free agents get, because arbitration-eligible players are not negotiating on the open market. They are still under team control and can only command a percentage of what a similar free agent would be worth, with that percentage going up each year that they pass through the arbitration process — most players get three turns through arby, some get four.

If the player and team can’t agree on a salary, then they each submit their offers to a third-party arbitrator who makes a final binding decision. The A’s will not need to do that with any of their players this year, or at least nobody who’s on the roster right now.