NEW YORK ( Associated Press) — Seattle second baseman and outfielder Adam Frazier and Kansas City outfielder Andrew Benintendi won their salary arbitration cases on Friday, as clubs and players have split victories after the first four rulings.
Frazier will receive an $8 million salary and not the $6.7 million offered by the Mariners, according to the decision of the three-judge arbitration panel: Margaret Brogan, Frederic Horowitz and Brian Keller.
Arbitrators heard arguments in this case on May 2.
“I’m excited, for sure,” said Frazier, who listened to the four-hour session via Zoom.
Major League Baseball and the Mariners filed arguments against Frazier’s representative and against the players’ union.
“My agent and the Association did a great job to present the arguments of the case. Obviously, I’m going to make money either way,” Frazier added.
Benintendi will receive $8.5 million instead of the $7.3 million proposed by the Royals, following the decision by referees Mark Burstein, Keith Greenberg and Steven Wolff, who heard arguments Thursday.
“I knew this was going to happen, and it’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” Benintendi said of the club’s arguments. “For me, it all came down to seeing this from every side. It’s unfortunate that it has to happen during the season, but that’s the way it was.”
On Wednesday on the first two misses, the Atlanta Braves beat third baseman Austin Riley and the St. Louis Cardinals beat outfielder Tyler O’Neill.
Fifteen additional players are eligible for salary arbitration, with hearings scheduled through June 24.
Players with hearings scheduled include Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall, pitcher Max Fried and shortstop Dansby Swanson, as well as New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge; pitcher Chris Bassitt, of the Mets from the same city; Dominican catcher Gary Sánchez, from Minnesota, and pitcher Zach Efflin, from Philadelphia.
Arbitration hearings are usually held in the first three weeks of February. This time they were postponed due to the employer’s strike.
