The Baltimore Orioles and catcher Pedro Severino yesterday reached a contract, avoiding arbitration. The Birds will pay Severino $1.825 Million next year. The arbitration deadline was yesterday afternoon.
I’ve long said that salary arbitration is a wasteful and cumbersome process. First off, most teams and players avoid it. Just because the deadline passes doesn’t mean you’re going to arbitration. The deals can still be made, in some cases right up until just before the hearing.
But I say it’s a wasteful process because it can cause bad feelings. The team is literally arguing that the player isn’t worthy of the money the player thinks he is. And the player is arguing that the team is underpaying him. It doesn’t do much in the area of goodwill.
Needless to say, it’s a good thing that they’re avoiding arbitration with Severino. It would be a good thing to avoid it with anyone.
Birdland Crush 