Question for the vets. In the few arbitration cases I had this year (and those I can remember from the recent past) rarely is an arbitration case awarded to the organization. Even if the player is below average by all statistical measurements. Any advice on these negotiations? Is it just a matter of pennies?

Also, has anyone found that offering a disrespectful contract has hurt a relationship with a player? Reason I ask, is that it's hinted at in my daily to-do. Anyone connected a low offer to a player walking away later?

Thanks!

The players' demands are based on his playing time from the prior season in relation to his overall rating, so his stats won't play into it. The salary guide on the arb negotiations page (minimum-average-max) uses just his years of experience in relation to his rating. I look at the playing time and try to get a feel for which of the three he is closest to. If he is definitely a regular and his demands are are in between average-and-max, I'll offer just slightly less than his demands. If he is a platoon type, I'll offer slightly more (about 10%) than the "average." If he is strictly a bench player with very little playing time, I'll offer slightly more than what he made the prior season. The player usually still wins, but I'd say since I got a feel for this system, I win between 30 and 40% of the cases.

I have not found evidence that a player gets bent over a low ball offer. I think the help pages that suggest this are referring to the fact that if you arb a player all three times, he will not sign with you long term without testing free agency.

I think patience also affects if he'll test FA as well.

Patience definitely factors into it. I had a pitcher with 98 Patience, never stuck in the rotation and bounced up and down to AAA a few times so his major league experience wasn't typical... I was able to arb him five times, and even after that he was still open to a long term contract.

Posted by cebola on 10/23/2016 4:35:00 AM (view original):
The players' demands are based on his playing time from the prior season in relation to his overall rating, so his stats won't play into it. The salary guide on the arb negotiations page (minimum-average-max) uses just his years of experience in relation to his rating. I look at the playing time and try to get a feel for which of the three he is closest to. If he is definitely a regular and his demands are are in between average-and-max, I'll offer just slightly less than his demands. If he is a platoon type, I'll offer slightly more (about 10%) than the "average." If he is strictly a bench player with very little playing time, I'll offer slightly more than what he made the prior season. The player usually still wins, but I'd say since I got a feel for this system, I win between 30 and 40% of the cases.

I have not found evidence that a player gets bent over a low ball offer. I think the help pages that suggest this are referring to the fact that if you arb a player all three times, he will not sign with you long term without testing free agency.

The help pages often say things because they sound good, not because they are true in the sim.