Arbitration panel rules in favor of Justin Bour, sets $3.4 million salary for 2018 season

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports reports that Justin Bour won his arbitration case against the Marlins, setting his 2018 salary at $3.4 million.

This was the slugger’s first time eligible for an arbitration raise. He still comes up $100,000 shy of the $3.5 million that MLB Trade Rumors had projected for him, but it’s certainly preferable to the club’s $3.0 million suggestion.

As MLBTR’s Matt Swartz explains, the process generally emphasizes old-school analytics:

Another quirk to the arbitration process is that it usually only factors in “baseball card statistics” rather than more sophisticated metrics. While teams signing free agents are typically up to speed on sabermetrics, the arbitration process does not account for them. Counting stats are important, as is playing time in general.

With that in mind, the following figures likely influenced the arbiters’ decision:

• Platform year stats: .289 BA, 25 HR, 83 RBI, 1 SB, 429 PA
• Career stats: .273 BA, 64 HR, 218 RBI, 1 SB, 1,279 PA

Bour was represented at the hearing by agent Marc Kligman of Total Care Sports Management.

According to Spotrac, the Marlins now have $76,337,142 in salary commitments for this season when accounting for Friday’s arbitration outcomes with Bour and catcher J.T. Realmuto. Dan Straily’s case is scheduled for Feb. 14.