A.J. Preller knows how to keep his players through the arbitration years. Yet again, Preller is able to work around superstars and key players on the Padres roster to keep them from getting into conflict with contract disagreements.
Credit: NESN
It is great to see another season to where the San Diego Padres are able to work out contracts with players that are in their arbitration-eligible years. A.J. Preller and the organization did not hesitate to come to an agreement with seven total players to stay on the contending roster through 2023 rather than having to take any unsettlement into arbitration.
With this past Friday being the deadline for arbitration settlements, the Padres figured it out quickly, while other teams including the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers have created controversy and trust issues with their players.
One by one, the news was coming out thanks to Jon Heyman having his hands glued to his phone and tweeting out every player you could think of during yesterday's deadline.
Below is a following list of the San Diego Padres avoiding arbitration:
Juan Soto: $23 million
Josh Hader: $14.1 million
Trent Grisham: $3.175 million
Tim Hill: $1.85 million
Austin Nola: $2.35 million
Jake Cronenworth: $4.225 million
Adrian Morejon: $800,000
With all of these moves being made and still waiting on Nelson Cruz to be official, the Padres luxury tax payroll sits around $269 million. Still under the $273 tax threshold before any major penalties hit if past that number.
On Twitter, Jeff Passan reported about Juan Soto's arbitration status in which many of us including me saw just 'Juan Soto,' 'San Diego Padres,' 'agree to deal.' Our hearts stopped in hopes of a major extension, but that can come soon just as we believe Manny Machado could be extended during the season to avoid any opt-outs.
Some players arguabally including Jake Cronenworth and Tim Hill deserve more money during these years in arbitration but they want to clearly win. It is a great thing to see that these players want to stick in San Diego for contending reasons rather than future Hall of Famers coming to the city for a retirement home.
Extensions will come and we should be confident that Peter Seidler will get those talks going. As for now, focus on keeping the roster satisfied and try bolstering any weak spots. A great offseason that will only get better from here!
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