The Cardinals taking Tyler O'Neill to arbitration is stupid
Save me your "this is the process" takes, thanks.
It’s quite simple, really.
Arbitration hearings send a bad message to the player, especially one who produced his best season last year, compiling 5.4 Wins Above Replacement (aka WAR) for the St. Louis Cardinals.
That’s Tyler O’Neill, who sounded about as happy as I do going to the dentist as he spoke with the media about his ongoing arbitration hearing. Read the man’s words yourself first, via (new to the Cardinals beat) MLB.com reporter, John Denton:
Keep reading.
It’s a stupid thing, and one of the reasons why the MLB Players Association was trying to erase this mindless ordeal from the face of the professional Earth in the latest CBA talks. Before the latest CBA, a player’s rights was essentially owned by a team for six seasons starting after his clock started, aka his first stint in the Majors. But after three seasons, the player is eligible for arbitration.
O’Neill is eligible for arbitration starting this year. The two sides, team and player, will submit numbers, with the gap between the two offers hopefully being a million dollars or less. These were the two filings from the Cardinals and O’Neill camp:
$750,000. That’s the gap here. There’s no logical reason to take a guy, one you could very well be negotiating a long-term deal with this calendar year, to arbitration over that much money. This isn’t a wish-upon-a-prayer type ordeal where the team is taking a risk. Fangraphs values 1.0 WAR these days at $8 million. The Cardinals are refusing to pay O’Neill HALF of that.
All this really is a baseball team, one of four who voted against the new CBA and playing a full season, trying to show off its power. The Cardinals could very easily swallow their monstrous/World Series monument in BP Village pride here and cut the muscled Canadian the rest of the money. $4.15 is a bargain, ladies and gents, for what O’Neill is about to do.
Hearing his words, all I read into a pissed-off individual who is pushing his anger down and being a pro. O’Neill is following the sage teachings of William Burr and pushing his anger down, doing some vital “man work” in order to avoid coming off as a pompous ass. That label belongs to the team.
Here’s a guy who proved to be the equalizer to your lineup last season, helping them go on a 17-game winning streak. Here’s a guy you betted on instead of paying Marcel Ozuna long-term. Here’s a guy who has won two straight Gold Gloves and mashed pitching last year. Here’s someone who is set up to be your #3 hitter for at least the next five years. That’s the guy you are taking to baseball court for $750,000.
Please, save me your “this is how it works” speeches. Wasted characters on a skimmed road. Don’t Steve Spagnuolo me and tell me about the process. The process, especially the process of player evaluation, is something the Cardinals should be taking classes for, not trying to teach others on it.
Pay Tyler his money, Birds. You’ve already proven to fans that you stink at making midseason moves, so this is most likely it for the offense. Corey Dickerson and done. Causing even a minor disturbance with your left fielder who just raked is a bad idea.
But what do I know? You’re the pros in suits, driving nice cars and giving witty answers to the press. You’re the baseball-loving masquerading businessmen who play with Cardinal Nation’s hearts every year.
Remember something, team apologists: the people who think we are attacking millionaires by stating an opinion. The Cardinals haven’t won much lately. They don’t need defending. No NLCS wins since 2014. A couple barely-in playoff entries the past two years. Zip from 2016-2018. Acting cute or trying to exhibit power with a potential star player is one more sign that St. Louis’s front office may be in over its head.
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports