Padres avoid arbitration with five players
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The San Diego Padres reached agreements with all five arbitration-eligible players before Friday’s arbitration deadline, according to Kevin Acee and A.J. Cassavell.
All arbitration deals are for one year.
This keeps the streak alive for general manager A.J. Preller, as he has yet to go to an arbitration hearing in his tenure with the Padres.
Reliever Emilio Pagan first agreed with the Padres at $1.57 million.
Emilio Pagan, Padres agreed at $1.57M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 15, 2021
Pagan got off to a slow start in 2020 for San Diego. Pagan went on the injured list with a bicep injury in the middle of the season but came back in time to perform well down the stretch and in the postseason. With both Kirby Yates and Trevor Rosenthal departing for free agency, Pagan will be a vital part of the bullpen in 2021.
Catcher Victor Caratini then agreed with the Padres at $1.3 million.
Source: Padres, Victor Caratini settle at $1.3 million, avoiding arbitration.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 15, 2021
The Padres acquired Caratini along with Yu Darvish in December. Caratini is considered Darvish’s personal catcher and will likely act as the backup catcher for Austin Nola, whom the Padres acquired at the trade deadline in 2020.
In his first year of arbitration, Dinelson Lamet received a sturdy contract along with a steep pay raise as he and the Padres agreed to $4.2 million.
Dinelson Lamet and Padres settle on a $4.2 million deal for 2021.
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) January 15, 2021
After missing the entire 2018 season and the first half of 2019, Lamet dominated in 2020. He finished in fourth place for the NL Cy Young Award, third in ERA, second in WHIP, and fourth in strikeouts. An injury late in the season leaves his status for 2021 up in the air, but he has been seen throwing on various social media platforms.
Tommy Pham agreed with the Padres at $8.9 million.
Source: Padres, Tommy Pham settle at $8.9 million, avoiding arbitration.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 15, 2021
Rumors speculated that the Padres considered non-tendering Pham, but ultimately the team decided to keep him on the roster.
Preller said it was a pretty easy decision to tender a contract to Tommy Pham.
Said he was a big part of the team, citing his mentality, approach, work ethic.
Betting on all those things, despite the injuries and the offseason stabbing.
See him as a key part of their club.
— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) December 14, 2020
Pham came over to the Padres along with Jake Cronenworth in December of 2019. Pham is notably a winner in the MLB, and that trend continued in 2020. He is often credited for his role in the clubhouse as a leader, helping the Padres win even as he struggled at the plate and broken hamate bone in August,
He made headlines earlier this offseason for an incident that resulted in him getting stabbed in the back. He recovered after surgery, but the situation was far from ideal. Pham will become a free agent after the 2021 season.
Lastly, the Padres settled with Dan Altavilla at $850,000.
Preller's streak without an arb hearing remains intact. The Padres agreed to one-year deals with all 5 arbitration-eligibles on Friday. Per sources, those deals are:
Pham: $8.9 million
Lamet: $4.2 million
Pagán: $1.57 million
Caratini: $1.3 million
Altavilla: $850,000— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) January 15, 2021
San Diego acquired Altavilla in the large trade that also included Nola, Taylor Trammell, and a few other young Padres players. Altavilla did not play a huge role in the Padres bullpen, but he only allowed three runs in 8 ⅔ innings. Like Pagan, he will serve a bigger role with the departure of Yates and Rosenthal.
According to Jeff Sanders, the projected payroll for the Padres is $151.4 million after the settlements.
With the #Padres avoiding arbitration today, here's an updated 26-man payroll projection for opening day: pic.twitter.com/GtKfxmGIxM
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) January 15, 2021
There are still some potential moves for the Padres, so that total is not set in stone.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”
Nice recap!
I like seeing the roster broken down like that with attached payroll. There are a few players on their, besides the obvious Tatis, that I’d like to see extended early. I think Trent Grisham is one worthy of a contract to keep him here for the next few years, past his controllable arb years.
For Pham… I don’t see him worthy of $8.9. I hope he proves me wrong.