Washington Business Daily

How could you calculate what a player should ask in arbitration?

Is there a website or something where you could find how much a baseball player should be payed roughly through arbitration? How much (ballpark) would a player and team ask for a player with a .260 avg, .314 obp, .365 slugging, and has a good outfield glove and descent speed?

Public Comments

1. It depends on how rich the team in question is, what age the player is, his track record (in terms of injury history and production in previous seasons), his potential to improve and put up better statistics, and what position he plays. If a player is young and puts up good numbers at a position where quality players are scarce (third base, shortstop, etc.), he'd receive more than, say, a good-hitting corner outfielder. For a player with the stats you have in mind, he wouldn't make very much. I'd say around $1 million at the most, because those stats are pretty horrendous. The first time a player goes through arbitration, he won't make as much as if he went through the second time (because he'd be closer to free agency then). Players make less money when they start out, and it's usually not until they reach free agency or receive a big contract to avoid arbitration that they receive anything close to their market value.
2. The player determines what he should be getting paid for playing a kids game for fun and his agent will add two more zeros to the end of that number.