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I went the majority of the first few decades of life having no idea what the word arbitration even meant. I know now for the usage of the term in MLB all I really need to know is that a player that is eligible for arbitration gets to make a good bit more money most of the time. If the team doesn’t try to reach at least a one year contract agreement with the player, the process goes through an arbitration hearing.
Obviously Jason Heyward is not someone the Atlanta Braves would want to cut or have unhappy. Since he is still in his first few years, his pay has been fairly low but he is available for his first big arbitration pay-day this year. With what he contributed last season and what he looks to accomplish in 2013 I think it’s only fair for the process to see its way through, though that could provide a slightly higher price tag. That is why the Braves found a way to avoid it with him and almost everyone else yet again.
They have signed Heyward and four other arbitration eligible players to one year contracts to avoid the hearings. This marks the fourth straight year that the Braves have been able to do this. The lone standout of eligible players is Martin Prado which seems a little odd considering its only over a few dollars. For five out of six to avoid the hearing process, it’s not too bad of a deal for the Braves and still leaves them cap room to spend some money if and when they need to.
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