Mariners and Teoscar Hernandez Reveal Significant Gap in Arbitration


With most teams' free-agent spending complete, front offices are shifting towards reaching deals with arbitration-eligible players ahead of the 2023 season.
While most of these deals are fairly routine, the Seattle Mariners have encountered difficulties with one of their newest players.
M's, Teoscar Hernández $2M apart in negotiations https://t.co/ZLt6sCkvPu
— NBC Sports EDGE Baseball (@NBCSEdgeBB) January 14, 2023
Teoscar Hernandez Arbitration
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez -- whom the Mariners traded for in November -- is entering his final year of arbitration before free agency. That typically entails a considerable raise for the player, as his new salary ends up being fairly close to what he would receive on the open market as a free agent.
In Hernandez's case, however, there is still a considerable gap between what he is seeking and what Seattle is offering. The two sides are currently $2 million apart in negotiations, as Hernandez wants $16 million but was offered $14 million.
The obvious solution would be to meet in the middle at $15 million. That seems like a fair price for the 30-year-old slugger, who is coming off a 25-homer campaign and has averaged 24 bombs with an .819 OPS over the last five seasons.
With roughly a month until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there's still plenty of time for both camps to work out a deal. The Mariners probably don't want to tick off their new basher too much before he's even played a game for them, so expect them to reach some sort of compromise.
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