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The Orioles agreed to one-year deals with five of their six arbitration-eligible players Friday, with just right-hander Austin Voth in line to head for a hearing.
Baltimore reached agreements with outfielders Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Anthony Santander; infielder Jorge Mateo; and right-handed reliever Dillon Tate. The largest salary increases came for Santander and Mullins, with the former settling at $7.4 million and the latter at $4.1 million, sources told The Baltimore Banner.
Salary arbitration is a way for players with at least three years and no more than six years of service to earn salary increases. Santander settled in his third of four years, Voth will head to a hearing in his second year, and the other four were first-time arbitration candidates.
Voth and the Orioles could still reach an agreement prior to a hearing date, although executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias tends to employ a “file-and-trial” strategy — if the organization and players don’t come to an agreement by the deadline, they’ll wait for the arbitration hearing rather than continuing negotiations.
Baltimore diverged from that path with left-hander John Means last year, agreeing to a two-year deal with the ace as he recovered from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. The Orioles and first baseman Trey Mancini also secured a contract for 2022 before a hearing, despite not reaching a deal by the salary exchange deadline.
In 2021, however, Santander and the Orioles went to an arbitration hearing. The independent arbitrator sided with the club in the only arbitration hearing to occur under Elias’ leadership.
Now, it appears as though Voth will head that direction, too.
Voth arrived as a waiver claim from the Washington Nationals midway through last season. Pitching mainly as a starter, Voth held a 3.04 ERA in 83 innings for Baltimore. He showed enough to warrant Elias tendering him a contract, keeping him in the organization.
The other five players settled Friday to one-year deals that cover the 2023 season, and all of them remain under team control for at least another season beyond that.
Tate proved himself as one of the Orioles’ top late-game options last season, pitching to a 3.05 ERA and securing five saves. He’ll be in a similar role in 2023, covering high-leverage innings in front of closer Félix Bautista. He settled for a deal worth $1.5 million, plus award bonuses, a source said.
Mullins received a significant increase compared to last year. He agreed to a $4.1 million contract for 2023, a source confirmed, after earning $716,500 in 2022.
Mullins’ production took a slight dip last season but he still produced at an above-average level, credited with 3.8 wins above replacement even as his average fell from .291 to .258 and his home run total dropped from 30 to 16. According to MLB Trade Rumors’ projections, Mullins was expected to earn about $4.4 million in arbitration, but he avoided a hearing by sealing a deal Friday in his first year of eligibility.
Part of the drop-off in production came from a second season batting solely from the left side of the plate. Mullins gave up switch-hitting in 2021 and found immediate success. But with a larger sample size to study, pitchers found alternate ways to approach Mullins. Now, he’ll have to adapt.
Santander earned the largest value for good reason. The 28-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, leading all switch-hitters in baseball with 33 homers. It was the kind of production that earned him a $4.25 million increase from what he settled on last offseason.
Hays, the final of the Orioles’ three starting outfielders, agreed to a deal worth $3.2 million, according to The Athletic — a jump from $713,000 last year.
Mateo also received a salary bump, to $2 million plus performance bonuses, as he looks to maintain Baltimore’s starting shortstop position. Should he receive a Gold Glove award, he’ll make an additional $50,000. The same goes for an All-Star Game appearance and Silver Slugger award.
The 27-year-old was snubbed from Gold Glove consideration last year, although he earned the Fielding Bible defensive award after he finished a close third among shortstops with 14 defensive runs saved.
All told, the Orioles doled out just over $18 million in contracts to the five players they came to terms with Friday. Voth could add about $2 million once his figure is settled through arbitration. That leaves Baltimore with a projected payroll of $64.5 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts — a rise from 2022, yet still next to last in the major leagues.
The Athletic was first to report the salary figures for Mullins, Santander, Hays and Mateo.
andy.kostka@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Andy Kostka is an Orioles beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Orioles for The Baltimore Sun. Kostka graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Rockville.
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