2022 Marlins arbitration deadline coverage

We are about to have a much clearer understanding of the 2022 Miami Marlins payroll. The team emerged from the MLB lockout with 10 arbitration-eligible players, projected for approximately $31.5 million in combined salaries, according to MLB Trade Rumors. One of them inked a multi-year extension and five others locked in their single-season salaries on Tuesday. The final four? They were unable to reach compromises with the club and will instead have the matter decided by independent arbiters.

In alphabetical order:

• Jesús Aguilar—projected for $7.4M | Aguilar filed at $7.75M; the Marlins filed at $7.0M
• Brian Anderson—projected for $4.5M | settled at $4.475M (via Craig Mish, SportsGrid)
• Jon Berti—projected for $1.2M | settled at $1.2M plus $60k in incentives (Robert Murray, FanSided)
• Richard Bleier—projected for $2.5M | signed extension for $2.25M in 2022 ($6.0M total through 2023)
• Garrett Cooper—projected for $3.0M | settled at $2.5M plus $100k in incentives (via Mish)
• Dylan Floro—projected for $2.4M | settled at $3.0M (via Kiley McDaniel, ESPN)
• Elieser Hernandez—projected for $1.4M | settled at $1.325M (via McDaniel)
• Pablo López—projected for $2.5M | López filed at $3.0M; the Marlins filed at $2.45M
• Jacob Stallings—projected for $2.6M | Stallings filed at $3.1M; the Marlins filed at $2.45M
• Joey Wendle—projected for $4.0M | Wendle filed at $4.9M; the Marlins filed at $4.35M

This deadline is ordinarily in January, but had to be pushed back due to the lockout. As a result, arbitration hearings—which are awkward under any circumstances—will be held during the regular season, potentially on Marlins game days if the arbiters’ schedules dictate that.

The disagreements with Aguilar and López potentially stem from the time they missed in 2021 due to knee and shoulder injuries, respectively. The arbitration process values both counting stats and effectiveness/efficiency. I can see why those individual cases would be tricky.

But the cases of Stallings and Wendle are head-scratchers. The Marlins parted with significant prospect capital to acquire them via trade prior to the lockout, so I figured it would be a priority for the front office to start those relationships on a good note.

Perhaps Stallings has an extension in the works like I speculated on Monday. Wendle would be an atypical candidate for that considering his long-term role on the Marlins isn’t as well defined.

For context, four Marlins players went to arbitration hearings from 2018-2021. Barring multi-year extensions or exceptions to the club’s “file-and-trial” policy, the 2022 class will match that total all by themselves.