Be prepared to hear more about arbitration hearings throughout the MLB. The latest rumors find pitcher Drew Smyly defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in their hearing on Thursday.
Jon Heyman is reporting Smyly and his agents at Frontline Athlete Management won the case against the Rays and the left-hander will earn $3.75 million in 2016 as opposed to the $3.2 million figure the team countered with.
Smyly earned $2.65 million in 2015 and filed for a $1.1 million raise. MLBTradeRumors.com projected Smyly to earn $3.9 million in 2016.
Last night Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported Smyly and the Rays argued their first arbitration case in Phoenix and that a ruling was expected on Thursday. Topkin also confirmed Heyman's report today.
This was the first arbitration case in the MLB this year.
Smyly, 26, is in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The left-hander was one of the players that came over in the David Price trade with the Detroit Tigers during the 2014 season. Smyly has made only 19 starts with the Rays and was limited to just 12 in 2015 due to shoulder issues.
However, he's 8-3 with a 2.52 ERA, 0.997 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in those 114-1/3 innings with Tampa Bay. Smyly is under club control through the 2018 season.
The left-hander figures to be part of a talented rotation in 2016 that consists of Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore and Erasmo Ramirez. The Rays also hope to get Alex Cobb back in August as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Smyly hopes to continue fighting through a small tear in his labrum that kept him sidelined for the first five months of the 2015 season. He avoided season-ending surgery because the tear was not significant.
The good news for the Rays is that this was their only unsettled arbitration salary for the 2016 season. Now they can focus on competing in the AL East as spring training approaches.
