2012 MLB Free Agents: Latest Updates on Arbitration Eligible MLB Stars

With spring training less than one month away for most teams, it is time to start looking at the players who are still in contract limbo. Unlike Prince Fielder, the players we talk about here have teams, they are just working on coming to an agreement on a contract. 

In other words, it is arbitration time. This has always been a fascinating process, because you are getting players to brag about themselves, while their team talks about everything that they don't do well, and an impartial judge decides who is right. 

The biggest chip on the free agent market, Prince Fielder, is still without a team. The Texas Rangers were talking to him last weekend, but T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com has reported that if the team signs Yu Darvish it is unlikely they will go after Fielder. 

The Rangers have until Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. EDT to get a deal done with Darvish, who is expected to sign.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Fielder if the Rangers are no longer in the mix. 

Here are the players who have been able to avoid an arbitration hearing to sign a new contract with their team. 

PLAYER, POSITION	TEAM	SALARY (Millions)
Blake DeWitt, OF	Chicago Cubs	$1.1
Ian Stewart, 3B	Chicago Cubs	$2.2
Homer Bailey, SP	Cincinnati Reds	$2.4 (per Associated Press)
Pablo Sandoval, 3B	San Francisco Giants	$17.15 (Three-Year Contract)
Nate Schierholtz, OF	San Francisco Giants	$1.3
Carlos Quentin, OF	San Diego Padres	$7.025 (per Rotoworld)
Edinson Volquez, SP	San Diego Padres	$2.2375 (per Rotoworld)
Tyler Clippard, RP	Washington Nationals	Undisclosed
Kameron Loe, RP	Milwaukee Brewers	$2.175
Brandon McCarthy, SP	Oakland A's	$4.275 (per San Francisco Chronicle)

PLAYER, POSITION	TEAM	SALARY (Millions)
Geovany Soto, Catcher	Chicago Cubs	$4.3
James Loney, 1B	Los Angeles Dodgers	$6.375
Chris Perez, Closer	Cleveland Indians	$4.5 (per Rotoworld)
Justin Masterson, SP	Cleveland Indians	$3.825 (per Rotoworld)
B.J. Upton, CF	Tampa Bay Rays	$7
David Price, SP	Tampa Bay Rays	$4.35
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF	Boston Red Sox	$8.05
Jair Jurrjens, SP	Atlanta Braves	$5.5
Michael Bourn, CF	Atlanta Braves	$6.845
Francisco Rodriguez, RP	Milwaukee Brewers	$8
Max Scherzer, SP	Detroit Tigers	$3.75 (per Rotoworld)
Cole Hamels, SP	Philadelphia Phillies	$15
Jordan Zimmerman, SP	Washington Nationals	$2.3
David Robertson, RP	New York Yankees	$1.6 (per Rotoworld)
Joba Chamberlain, RP	New York Yankees	$1.675 (per Rotoworld)

PLAYER, POSITION	TEAM	SALARY (Millions)
Ben Francisco, OF	Toronto Blue Jays	$1.5
Kelly Johnson, 2B	Toronto Blue Jays	$6.375
J.A. Happ, SP	Houston Astros	$2.35
Francisco Liriano, SP	Minnesota Twins	$5.5
Mike Pelfrey, SP	New York Mets	$5.675
Brandon League, RP	Seattle Mariners	$5
Andre Ethier, RF	Los Angeles Dodgers	$10.95
Dexter Fowler, CF	Colorado Rockies	$2.35
Shin-Soo Choo, RF	Cleveland Indians	$4.9
Mike Adams, RP	Texas Rangers	$4.4

Here is a look at some of the players awaiting deals from their teams. 

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

The two-time Cy Young award winner is doing his best to set some arbitration records, and the Giants are helping him in the process.

According to the Associated Press, Lincecum is seeking $21.5 million, just $500,000 short of the record amount that Roger Clemens asked for with the Houston Astros in 2005. The Giants countered with $17 million. 

His two-year contract expired after last season, and the two sides have been unable to work out a long-term deal thus far, so it stands to reason he will sign a one-year deal then keep talking with the team about a contract that will keep him in San Francisco for a long time. 

David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

Ortiz and the Red Sox were working on a contract back at the winter meetings, but they couldn't come to an agreement. As a result, Ortiz decided that he did not want to go anywhere. He accepted arbitration and the two sides are still working on a contract. 

According to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, new Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington met with Ortiz's agent over the weekend to discuss a new contract. 

He made $12.5 million last year, and could conceivably get a raise if this does go to an arbitrator. 

Matt Garza, Chicago Cubs

Garza's name has been talked about a lot this offseason as a potential trade chip for the rebuilding Cubs, but those rumors have died down in the last few weeks. It didn't help that the New York Yankees acquired Michael Pineda, leaving one big market team out of the mix for him. 

In fact, ESPN Chicago reported last week that the team is no longer shopping him around. 

He is still under team control for two more seasons, and I don't see the Cubs looking to sign him to a long-term extension. I expect him to sign a one-year contract for 2012, and possibly get dealt this summer. 

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles

Unlike Ortiz and Garza, Kershaw is still waiting to hit his prime seasons and is not going to be traded anywhere. He will be 24 years old in March and won the National League Cy Young award last year. 

Considering the disastrous state that the Dodgers ownership situation is in right now, and the success that Kershaw has had, it will be interesting to see how this gets resolved. 

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that Kershaw's representatives have met with the Dodgers about a long-term extension, but it was nothing serious. He was a bargain last year, earning just $500,000 in base-salary. Expect him to get a big raise this year, either with an extension or through arbitration. 

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Kershaw filed for $10 million, but the Dodgers are offering $6.5 million. They might be able to come to some middle ground on that one, though it will be interesting if that does go to a hearing. 

Tim Lincecum filed for $10 million during his first year of arbitration with the San Francisco Giants in 2009. Kershaw has certainly done enough to warrant that kind of salary. 

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