Baltimore Orioles: Arbitration avoided with Manny Machado and more

Earlier in the afternoon, the word on the street was that the Baltimore Orioles and Manny Machado could not agree on a contract for the 2018 season.

Fortunately, as the day moved on, the Baltimore Orioles agreed to contracts with most of their arbitration-eligible players.

This means that the Orioles and a handful of their players were able to sit down in a room together and discuss contracts without the need for an independent arbitrator.

According to several sources, including Bob Nightengale with USA Today, the Orioles and Machado agreed on $16 million for 2018. The deadline to avoid arbitration is today.

The #Orioles and Machado actually filed arbitration numbers before reaching a settlement for $16 million
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 12, 2018

A long day at the office

Along with Machado, several other Orioles players were also in arbitration talks. Around the soft deadline 1:00 PM, the team did not have any deals with any players. But, several were signed by 5:00 PM. The other players who were in talks today included Brad Brach, Tim Beckham, Zach Britton, and Caleb Joseph.

Confirming #Orioles have come to terms with RH reliever Brad Brach ($5.165 million), shortstop Tim Beckham ($3.35 million) and catcher Caleb Joseph ($1.25 million), according to source. With Machado and Britton also signed, only Gausman and Schoop remain.
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) January 12, 2018

According to Eduard Encina with the Baltimore Sun, the only players who have not yet signed were Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop.

Dogged by Donaldson

It comes as no surprise that the Orioles and Machado had some difficulty reaching a deal. One factor may have been the dollar amount that fellow third baseman Josh Donaldson received from the Toronto Blue Jays. According to Gregor Chisholm with MLB.com Donaldson will receive $23 million for his work in 2018. Granted, he does have an MVP under his belt. Donaldson is 32 years old and will be a free agent in 2019.

Donaldson had better batting stats than Machado did in 2017. His slash was .270/.385/.559 compared to Machado’s .259/.310/.471. Donaldson only played in 113 games and still managed to hit 33 home runs, the same number that Machado hit in 156 home runs and 215 more at-bats. Donaldson’s WAR was higher than Machado’s in 2017, too. Donaldson recorded a WAR of 4.8, while Machado was a +3.5 WAR player. It looks like Donaldson’s numbers deserve a higher contract, but maybe not the highest ever.

Next: Nestor Cortes: Diamond in the rough?

Unfortunately, the Orioles and the two remaining players, Gausman and Schoop, will have to meet with arbitrators to make a deal for 2018.

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