Arizona Diamondbacks avoid arbitration with five players

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that they had avoided arbitration with the following five players. Reports elsewhere provided the figures as linked, and the number in brackets is what MLB Trade Rumors projected for the player

• Zac Gallen: $5.6 million ($4.5 million)
• Carson Kelly: $4.275 million ($4.1 million)
• Kyle Lewis: $1.61 million ($1.2 million)
• Cole Sulser: $825K ($1 million)
• Christian Walker: $6.5 million ($7.3 million)

That’s about a total of about $700K over estimates across the five players. I’ve no issue with the D-backs giving their ace more than expected: perhaps it’ll improve the chances of a long-term contract? I think that only leaves Josh Rojas left of the arbitration eligible players. He and the club will now exchange figures with what each thinks Rojas is worth, though negotiations can continue between the two sides. If there’s no agreement, there will be an arbitration hearing at which player and team make their case. The arbitrator will then choose one or other figure - there’s no middle-grounding it. These hearings are pretty rare, with typically no more than a handful a year getting that far.