Perrotto: One Side Has Edge in Ji-Man Choi Arbitration Case (+)
Many years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates held what they called “hot stove luncheons” in the press dining room at Three Rivers Stadium during the winter months.
The Pirates would make the manager, various executives and a handful of players available for interviews. The whole point of the exercise was to generate some publicity and keep the Pirates in the news during the offseason.
Those luncheons were discontinued long ago but one vivid memory remains. It came between the 1990 and 1991 seasons.
The Pirates were coming off their first postseason appearance since winning the World Series in 1979. They also had multiple star players who had gained enough major league service time to become eligible for salary arbitration.
The late Carl Barger, then the club president, told reporters that the Pirates would not negotiate with any of those players. Instead, the team would go to arbitration hearings and allow an independent arbitrator to determine each player’s salary.
This did not sit very well with the players.
Slugger Bobby Bonilla held court with the media in one corner of the room. The more he talked about the Pirates’ plan of action, the angrier he got and the higher his voice became.
Finally, at about a half octave below a dog whistle, Bonilla exclaimed, “you heard the man, we’re going to court!”
Well, it appears the Pirates and offseason acquisition Ji-Man Choi are going to court. The team has been unable to reach contract terms with Choi since getting the first baseman from the Tampa Bay Rays on Nov. 10 in a trade.
Three-person panels will hear arguments in hearings from Jan. 30-Feb. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla. That is a bit ironic considering the Pirates acquired Choi from the Rays, who play their games in that city at Tropicana Field.
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Choi is asking for $5.4 million, and the Pirates are offering $4.65 million. The panel will decide on one figure.
Choi made $3.2 million last season when he hit .233/.341/.388 with 11 home runs in 113 games for the Rays.
It is always difficult to predict who will win an arbitration hearing. As one longtime baseball executive once told me, “It boils down to a high-tech flip of a coin.”
However, there are many reasons to think the Pirates will win this one. History favors them as teams have a 334-251 record since the arbitration began in 1974.
Furthermore, MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz projected Choi’s salary for 2023 to be $4.5 million before the sides exchanged figures. Swartz, who is usually accurate with his projections, pegged Choi to make even less than the Pirates’ offer.
The Pirates can also make their share of statistical arguments against Choi.
First and foremost, of the 27 players who played primarily first base and had at least 750 plate appearances from 2020-22, Choi had the fewest home runs in that span with 27. Choi was also 25th in RBIs with 113.
For comparison’s sake, the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso homered 93 times and drove in 260 runs during that span.
Choi is 25th with a .231 batting average and 26th with a .399 slugging percentage. The leaders are the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (.317) and St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt (.534).
Choi’s 2.5 WAR ranks 21st.
The most positive point that can be made by Choi’s representatives is that he is 13th in on-base percentage (.342).
That’s a flimsy case and hardly worth going to “court” over.
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