2015 National Baseball Arbitration Competition

Transcription

1 2015 National Baseball Arbitration Competition Jenrry Mejia vs. New York Mets Submission of $2.3 million on Behalf of the New York Mets Midpoint: $2.6 million By: Team 31

2 Table of Contents I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision II. Quality of Mejia s Contribution to the Team in 2014 III. IV. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions Existence of Mental and Physical Defects V. Past Compensation VI. VII. VIII. Comparative Baseball Salaries Recent Performance of the Club Summary and Conclusion List of Sources Baseball Prospectus, Prospectus Entertainment Ventures, LLC, Baseball-Reference, Sports Reference, LLC, ESPN, ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports, espn.go.com. Fangraphs, Fangraphs, Inc., MLB, MLB Advanced Media, L.P., MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, Basic Agreement, SBNation, Vox Media, Inc.,

3 I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision This brief analyzes the assets and contributions of right-handed pitcher Jenrry Mejia (the Player or Mejia ) to be reflected in his 2015 contract with the New York Mets ( the Club or Mets ). This arbitration hearing is governed by the Major League Baseball ( MLB ) Collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA ). The CBA establishes that the following criteria shall be considered in determining the player s award: (1) the quality of the Player s contribution to his Club during the past season including, but not limited to, his overall performance, special qualities of leadership and public appeal; (2) the length and consistency of his career contributions; (3) the record of the Player s past compensation; (4) comparative baseball salaries; (5) the existence of any physical or mental defects on the part of the Player; and (6) the recent performance record of the Club. 1 Mr. Mejia has 2 years, 140 days of MLB service 2, entitling him to file a request for this first arbitration as a Super Two. While Mr. Mejia is a valued member of the Mets and shows extraordinary talent, the Club, however, have concerns with his struggles to maintain consistency and his frequent injury issues. The evidence of his past performance and future potential presented in this brief and in oral argument demonstrates that Mr. Mejia is fairly entitled to a salary below the $2.6 million midpoint between his offer and that of the Club. The Mets respectfully request that this panel find that he is entitled to a 2015 salary arbitration award of $2.3 million. II. Quality of Mejia s Contribution to the Team in 2014 Mr. Mejia had an impressive 2014 season, especially considering that he was coming off an injury plagued campaign in He worked in both the starting rotation and out of the bullpen, 1 MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, Basic Agreement, Article VI(E) 10(a)-(b), pp , 2 Jenrry Mejia Statistics and History, Baseball Prospectus. [hereinafter Baseball Prospectus]. Team 31 New York Mets 1

4 his primary contribution coming in his role as a closer. His 28 saves were good enough for him to rank 19 th in MLB 3, and with only three blown saves, he was very effective when given the opportunity to close out games. The Club is very pleased with his contributions to the team. There is no doubt Mr. Mejia stepped up when the Club needed him most; coming into the season as the unlikely fifth starter 4, he transitioned into the closer role after injuries 5 and transactions involving other key players 6 left the position in flux. When pressed for duty, Mr. Mejia accepted his new assignment and performed admirably. However, his move from the starting rotation to the bullpen was not a promotion or to fill a void; he struggled as a starter at the beginning of the season, which prompted the Club to replace him in the starting rotation with hopes that he would contribute as a reliever. 7 The transition was mutually beneficial as Mr. Mejia experienced the best season of his young career and the Club was able to secure that important position. Table 1 8 : 2014 Season Performance SP / RP G W L SV BS 9 IP ERA H R ER SO WHIP 10 As Starter As Reliever Cumulative Totals MLB 2014 Sortable Pitching Statistics, MLB. [hereinafter MLB]. pitching&game_type='r'&season=2014&season_type=any&league_code='mlb'&sectiontype=sp&stattype=pitc hing&page=1&ts= &sortcolumn=sv&sortorder='desc'&extended=0 4 Rubin, Adam. "'Shocked' Matsuzaka Left off Roster," ESPN. 5 Rubin, Adam. Bobby Parnell to have surgery, ESPN. york/mlb/story/_/id/ /bobby-parnell-new-york-mets-tommy-john-surgery-miss-remainder season?ex_cid=espnapi_public. 6 Mass, AJ. Drastic changes at RP for Mets, ESPN. 7 Rubin, Adam. Rafael Montero to debut vs. Yankees, ESPN. 8 Jenrry Majia Statistics and History, Fangraphs. [hereinafter Fangraphs]. 9 Blown Save 10 Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched Team 31 New York Mets 2

5 III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions While Mr. Mejia has displayed enormous potential, especially in light of his 2014 accomplishments, the overall body of work for his career presents issues of consistency and durability. These issues decrease his value despite his lauded performance in Table 2 11 : Career Statistics YEAR G GS IP W L SV BS SO ERA WHIP Career As a Starter As a Reliever Year IP SO ERA WHIP Year IP SO ERA WHIP Starter Totals Reliever Totals Mr. Mejia has failed to show that he can sustain long-term success either as a starter or as a reliever. His inconsistent performance has forced the Club to move Mr. Mejia from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Not until 2014 has Mr. Mejia been able to prove dependable enough to warrant the Club leaving him in one position for a prolonged period of time. Last season was also the most taxing for Mr. Mejia; he more than doubled his previous high for innings pitched, from 39 IP in 2010 to 93.2 IP in It is unknown if Mr. Mejia can endure that type of workload for a second consecutive season, problems with injuries and consistency have proven to be setbacks in previous seasons. While the Club believes that Mr. Mejia can harness all of his potential and become a reliable performer for seasons to come, without a wealth of statistical information or a history of prolonged success, that belief is 11 Fangraphs, supra, note 8. Team 31 New York Mets 3

6 founded primarily on hope. IV. Existence of Mental or Physical Defects Mr. Mejia s brief career has been plagued by injuries. The Club is very concerned about Mr. Mejia s durability, which has also had an adverse impact on his consistency, and considers his history of injuries a major factor in its analysis of Mr. Mejia s value. Table 3 12 : Injury History Date Transaction Days Missed Games Missed Injury 9/16/10 DTD Strain, right rhomboid 4/30/11 Minors Tommy John surgery, right elbow 4/4/12 Minors Recovery from Tommy John surgery 3/22/13 60-DL Recover from right elbow inflammation 8/18/13 60-DL Surgery to remove bone chips, right elbow 4/16/14 DTD 5 4 Blister, right middle finger 6/13/14 DTD 2 2 Tightness, low back 8/5/14 DTD 2 2 Strain, calf 8/8/14 DTD 0 0 Hernia* 8/19/14 DTD 4 3 Back spasms *Played through injury, underwent surgery at the conclusion of the season. 13 Throughout his time with the Club, Mr. Mejia has had a series of setbacks that have caused him to miss time at various points in the season. The most serious injury occurred at the beginning of the 2011 season when Mr. Mejia required Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in the elbow of his throwing arm. 14 He had to miss the entire 2011 season and a large portion of the 2012 season recovering from that procedure. While Tommy John surgery has become increasingly commonplace, Mr. Mejia has also suffered other injuries to that same elbow, including undergoing another surgical procedure in order to remove bone fragments. 15 While Mr. Mejia did not experience any issues with his right elbow in the 2014 season, he 12 Baseball Prospectus, supra, note Rubin, Adam. Mejia surgery set for next week, ESPN Brisbee, Grant. Jenrry Mejia Injury: Ligament Tear Confirmed, Tommy John Surgery Needed, SBNation Jarosh, Noah. Jenrry Mejia injury: Mets RHP placed on DL with bone spur in elbow, SBNation. Team 31 New York Mets 4

7 did experience a myriad of other ailments that caused him to miss time last season. And while he did not miss any time due to a hernia he was dealing with since at least early August, 16 Mr. Mejia was dealing with a number of injuries at the same time. This indicates that the toll of a full MLB season was a severe strain on Mr. Mejia, causing his body to prematurely break down prior to the conclusion of the season. While the Mets are committed to assisting Mr. Mejia develop to the point where he can last the entirety of an MLB season, at this point his inability to do so is a cause for concern entering 2015 and one of the primary reasons the Club believes their offer of $2.3 million is the appropriate measure of compensation. V. Past Compensation Mr. Mejia s injury history, lack of experience, and issues with consistency have all been important factors in determining his past compensation, which has been just above the league minimum for the last two seasons. Table 4: Past Compensation Year Salary 17 League Minimum $494,925 $490, $509,675 $500,000 His salaries for the two previous years reflect the uncertainty the Club has about his ability to withstand the rigors of an entire MLB season and maintain a consistent performance throughout. The substantial raise offered indicates the Club is hopeful that Mr. Mejia can build of off his promising 2014 campaign and perform at an equally high level. VI. Comparative Baseball Salaries The Club believes that Mr. Mejia s value can be accurately determined by comparing his 16 Rubin, Adam. Jenrry Mejia dealing with hernia injury, ESPN Baseball Prospectus, supra, note MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, Basic Agreement, Article VI(A) 1, pp , Team 31 New York Mets 5

8 statistics to those of relief pitchers Chris Perez, Drew Storen, and Mark Melancon (collectively, the comparable players ). In the following table, Mr. Mejia s 2014 statistics are shown alongside those of the comparable players in the year before each of the comparable players became eligible for arbitration as well as their respective career totals up unto that point. The Awarded Salary category represents what each of the comparable players and their respective clubs settled for in lieu of an arbitration hearing. Table 5: Comparable Relief Pitchers Chris Perez 19 W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP Career to date Awarded Salary: $2,225,000 Drew Storen 20 W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP Career to date Awarded Salary: $2,500,000 Mark Melancon 21 W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP Career to date Awarded Salary: $2,595,000 Jenrry Mejia 22 W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP Career to date Chris Perez Statistics and History, Baseball-Reference Drew Storen Statistics and History, Baseball-Reference Mark Melancon Statistics and History, Baseball-Reference Jenrry Mejia Statistics and History, Baseball-Reference. Team 31 New York Mets 6

9 The main issue that stands out when contrasting Mr. Mejia s statistics in both the year preceding his eligibility for arbitration and his entire career is that he has significantly more appearances as a starting pitcher; Mr. Mejia has made 18 starts in his career, while the collective total of the comparable players is none. While it could be argued that those appearances in the starting rotation have inflated some of Mr. Mejia s career averages, it also shows that he has significantly less experience as a reliever. Referring back to Table 2, Mr. Mejia only has a totally of 87 innings of work as a reliever in his career, each of the comparable players had at least 161 innings of experience as a reliever entering arbitration. The numbers of Chris Perez ( Perez ) bear a close resemblance with Mr. Mejia s. In 2010, Perez had five less saves but also had a better ERA (Perez: 1.71; Mejia: 2.72) and WHIP (Perez: 1.08; Mejia 1.42) than Mr. Mejia did as a reliever. 23 Also, Mr. Perez missed significantly less time (14 total days, no games missed) 24 entering arbitration compared to the amount of time Mr. Mejia has missed due to the number of injuries he has sustained. Mr. Perez and the Cleveland Indians, in order to avoid an arbitration hearing, agreed on a salary $2,225,000 for the 2011 season. This total is on par with the $2.3 million offer the Club has proposed for Mr. Mejia. More recently, Drew Storen ( Storen ) and Mark Melancon ( Melancon ) present additional information to which Mr. Mejia can be accurately compared. Similar to Mr. Mejia, Mr. Storen also dealt with significant injuries in his career up to the date of arbitration. Mr. Storen missed 89 games in the 2012 season after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow, 25 a nearly identical procedure Mr. Mejia underwent in For this reason, Mr. Storen had far fewer saves (four) and threw less innings (30.1) in the season preceding arbitration than Mr. 23 See Table 2, supra, page Chris Perez Statistics and History, Baseball Prospectus, 25 Drew Storen Statistics and History, Baseball Prospectus, Team 31 New York Mets 7

10 Mejia did as a reliever last season (28 saves, 56.1 innings pitched as a reliever). 26 However, Mr. Storen did have a greater body of work for his career, with more saves (52, 43 in 2011) 27 and a much lower WHIP (1.1) entering arbitration. Mr. Storen and the Washington Nationals agreed on a salary of $2.5 million for the 2013 season, thus avoiding arbitration proceedings. Mr. Mejia s career statistics fall short of Mr. Storen s, logically leading to the conclusion that the arbitration award in this case should be accordingly lower. Mr. Storen s salary for 2013 is below the $2.6 million midpoint in this case, which also weighs in favor of the team and their offer to Mr. Mejia of $2.3 million. Like Mr. Mejia, Mr. Melancon also underwent Tommy John surgery while still pitching in the minor leagues, which caused him to miss the entire 2007 season. 28 Unlike Mr. Mejia, however, Mr. Melancon had not experienced any other injury issues, since his surgery. Leading up to arbitration, Mr. Melancon had an exceptional season, with a lower ERA (1.39) and WHIP (0.96) than Mr. Mejia. While Mr. Melancon did record fewer saves (16) and blow more save opportunities (5) 29 in that season, his career totals leading into arbitration were more consistent and provided a greater sample size, which allowed for a more accurate projection of his numbers going forward. Mr. Melancon and the Pittsburgh Pirates settled on a salary of $2,595,000 million for the 2013 season, and while the Club believes that Mr. Mejia s statistics are inferior to those of Mr. Melancon, his awarded salary is still below the midpoint salary in this case, which supports the Club s position that its offer to Mr. Mejia should be the appropriate award in this case. 26 See Table 2, supra, page Drew Storen Statistics and History, Baseball Prospectus, 28 Mark Melancon Statistics and History, Baseball Prospectus, 29 Id. Team 31 New York Mets 8

11 VII. Recent Performance of the Club The Mets finished the 2014 season third in the National League East Division with a record of 79-83, 17 games behind the division leading Washington Nationals. 30 The Club has not made the playoffs since 2006 and has not reached 80 wins since Despite the recent futility, the Club is optimistic going forward. With one of the youngest rosters in baseball, 32 and with these young and developing players, the Club expects to be in playoff contention in the near future. The strength of the Club is the pitching staff, ranking ninth in team ERA (3.49) 33 in Despite strong pitching, offensive woes prevented the Club from achieving more wins. The Mets ranked in the bottom third of the league last season in run support, 34 placing more pressure on the pitching staff to win games for the Club. The Mets believe that Mr. Mejia can help bolster an already strong pitching staff and help the Club as it attempts to return to the playoffs. VIII. Conclusion The Mets believe that Mr. Mejia has the requisite skills to be a successful player. Despite showing inconsistencies in the past, the Club hopes with time and proper development Mr. Mejia can achieve great success as an individual and positively contribute to the Club as it attempts to regain its historical prowess. However, Mr. Mejia has not yet shown that he can successfully produce on a year-to-year basis and the Club is still concerned with ability to withstand the rigors of a full MLB season. Based on the evidence provided in this brief and in oral argument, the New York Mets respectfully request that this panel find the Club s offer of $2.3 million to be an appropriate salary for the 2015 season. 30 MLB Standings, ESPN Id. 32 MLB Roster Analysis, ESPN MLB Team Stats, ESPN MLB Expanded Team Pitching Stats, ESPN. Team 31 New York Mets 9