The Marlins lost their arbitration case with Miguel Cabrera and they’ll be on the hook to pay him $7.4 million. That’s a solid raise over the $472,000 he made last year and what I didn’t understand was why the Marlins just didn’t give in. Arbitration is almost lose/lose in my opinion. Even when the team wins, the player loses and you wonder how much ill will he takes with him and whether that gives the player one more reason to bail once free agency kicks in.
This was Cabrera’s first year of arbitration eligibility so he’ll still be a Marlin for the next three years. He’s one of the best players in baseball though and forking over an extra $700k would have gone a long way towards maybe getting a home town discount on a long term deal. I know it’s not my money but it’s my opinion.
PECOTA is looking at another big year for Cabrera. His weighted mean average has him at .318/.405/.568 with 33 homeruns. Not too shabby for a 24 year old. Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard may be the best players in the National League but Carbera is definitely in the next tier of players.
