Your 2018 Giants: Arbitration Offers and Non-Tender

The Giants have announced their arbitration decisions.  Of course, they offered arbitration to Joe Panik, Will Smith, Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin, and Sam Dyson.  However, they non-tnedered Albert Suarez.  Panik, Strickland, and Dyson are arbitration eligible for the first time, Smith and Gearrin for the second time.

Players have a Jan. 9 deadline for filing for arbitration and the deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures is Jan. 12, although the sides could work out agreements before then.

Matt Swartz, noted saber, has been publishing his arbitration projections every year now.  His latest projections are available.  These are the players projected arbitration salaries:

• Joe Panik:  $3.5M
• Sam Dyson:  $4.6M
• Will Smith:  $2.5M
• Hunter Strickland:  $1.7M 
• Cory Gearrin:  $1.6M

ogc thoughts

These arbitration offers were not surprising.  They are all good players and cheaper than free agents, and more importantly, have done well for the Giants.  I have found Swartz's projections to be pretty close to the midpoint between the Giants offer and the player's request. 

Oddly, though, Albert Suarez was not arbitration eligible anyway.  They apparently dropped him to clear out a 40-man roster spot, as they are now down to 39 players, as the Rule 5 Draft approaches.  Perhaps they found someone they liked on another team's draft eligibles after all the announced 40-man additions in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, and will draft him.  Well, it's not every year (hopefully) that you got the second pick in the Rule 5 Draft, so you may as well use it (or trade with someone who uses it and gives you something valuable).