Sources: Nola, Story likely headed to arbitration
Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story and Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola did not reach settlements on one-year deals for the 2019 season and are expected to head to arbitration hearings to determine their salaries, league sources told ESPN on Friday.
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino also did not settle with the team and will head to arbitration, as well.
The non-settlements capped a wild morning in which more than 100 eligible players negotiated their contracts.
Boston’s Mookie Betts, the AL MVP in 2018, will make $20 million next season, which sets a new arbitration-settlement standard for players with four or more years of service.
Pitcher Jacob deGrom more than doubled his salary as he reached a $17M deal with the Mets for 2019, breaking the record for a raise for an arbitration-eligible player.
The Cubs have signed suspended shortstop Addison Russell to a one-year deal worth $3.4 million, avoiding an arbitration hearing, according to a source.
That group will also include starting pitcher Gerrit Cole and shortstop Carlos Correa, who were not able to reach deals with the Astros.
Nola (17-6, 2.37 ERA, 224 strikeouts) and Severino (19-8, 3.39 ERA, 220 strikeouts) are both first-time-eligible starting pitchers, a market that has been notoriously difficult for players.
While first-time-eligible closers regularly exceed $6 million salaries, the only starting pitcher to do so was Dallas Keuchel coming off his Cy Young season with the Houston Astros in 2015.
The 26-year-old Story, meanwhile, hit .291 with 37 home runs, 108 RBIs and 27 stolen bases for the Rockies last season, when he made $555,000.
There were, however, some record settlements reached Friday.
• American League MVP Mookie Betts set a new standard for players with four or more years of service by settling with the Boston Red Sox for $20 million — a raise of $9.5 million over 2017, when he beat the Red Sox in an arbitration hearing.
• National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom more than doubled his salary with the New York Mets, jumping from $7.4 million to $17 million to set a record for the highest raise in arbitration, which had been set just hours earlier by Betts.
• Khris Davis, who led the majors with 48 home runs and was second with 123 RBIs last season, settled with the Oakland Athletics for $16.5 million — a raise of $6 million.
Nearly 200 players are in the arbitration system, which covers every player who has spent three, four or five full seasons in the major leagues and a small percentage of those with the most service days in the class of two-year players. Once a player reaches six full seasons of service time, he can become a free agent the following winter.