The Braves agreed to terms on one-year deals with arbitration-eligible Kris Medlen, Chris Johnson Mike Minor and Jordan Schafer, but their 12-year streak of no arbitration hearings apparently will end.
All-Stars Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman and former All-Star Jason Heyward didn’t agree to deals before Friday’s deadline for unsigned arbitration-eligible players to do so or swap salary-arbitration figures with their team.
Since the Braves are among the six or seven teams that have adopted a “file and trial” strategy that eschews continued negotiations after salary-swap day, they will go to arbitration hearings with those three prominent players unless one or more of them take the Braves’ current offers.
The hearings will be scheduled between Feb. 1-21 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“We were very aggressive on all seven of them, exceeding arbitration recommendations and trying to get deals done,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said. “It just didn’t seem like we could get to a number to get a deal done with the final three.”
Kimbrel asked for $9 million, a full $3.75 million above the previous record for a reliever in his first year of arbitration. The Braves offered $6.55 million, which was above the record but about $500,000 below what Kimbrel had been projected to get.
The split was relatively small between salaries proposed by Heyward ($5.5 million) and the Braves ($5.2 million), while there was a more significant gap between Freeman ($5.75 million) and the team ($4.5 million). Heyward had been projected to get $4.5-4.7 million and Freeman about $5 million.
At each player’s hearing, a panel will choose one salary or the other, and not consider any other amount.
The Braves last went to an arbitration hearing in 2001, winning that case against John Rocker. In 2009, Jeff Francoeur reached agreement with the Braves the night before he was to fly to Phoenix for an arbitration hearing, but since then the Braves have informed players and agents that they won’t negotiate after salary-swap day.
“We have an organization philosophy of the filing date is our last date to negotiate prior to a hearing,” said Wren, who said the Braves would be sensitive at hearings to the fact the three are among their best players and leaders.
Meanwhile, Medlen more than doubled his salary to $5.8 million after going 15-12 with a 3.11 ERA in 197 innings in his first year of arbitration and first season as a full-time starter (he moved from the bullpen in July 2012).
Johnson got $4.75 million, well above the $4.2 million some had projected he’d get following a career-best season in his first year of arbitration. The third baseman made $2.785 million in 2013 and was a surprise leader in the NL batting race for much of the season before finishing with a .321 average, 34 doubles and 12 homers.
Minor got more than a 600-percent raise from $505,000 in 2013 to $3.85 million. The left-hander went 13-9 and had career-bests in wins, ERA (3.21), innings (204 2/3), starts (32) and strikeouts (181).
Schafer, a first-time arb-eligible outfielder, nearly doubled his salary to $1.09 million after hitting .247 with a .331 OBP and three triples, three homers and 22 stolen bases in 94 games.
If they didn’t reach agreements by 1 p.m. Friday, arbitration-eligible players and teams proposed what each side deemed an appropriate salary.
Kimbrel made $655,000 last season and became the youngest closer to have 50 saves in a season. The 25-year-old had a 1.21 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 67 innings, and tied Baltimore’s Jim Johnson for the majors lead with 50 saves.
Freeman stood to get nearly $5 million in his first year of arbitration, after hitting .319 with 23 homers and a career-high 109 RBIs. He has topped 20 homers in each of his three full seasons and made $560,000 in 2013.
Heyward should see his salary rise to at least $4.5 million from $3.65 million. Limited to 104 games appendicitis and a broken jaw, he hit .254 with 37 extra-base hits (14 homers) in 440 at-bats, including .322 with a .403 OBP and six homers in 118 ABs in the leadoff spot.
