PHOENIX (AP) Catcher J.T. Realmuto lost his salary arbitration case against Miami and first baseman Justin Bour beat the Marlins to leave players with a 3-1 record this year.
Realmuto was given a $2.9 million salary Friday instead of his request for $3.5 million. The decision was made by arbitrators Andrew Strongin, Elizabeth Neumeier and Allen Ponak, who heard arguments Wednesday.
Bour was awarded $3.4 million instead of Miami’s $3 million offer by James Oldham, Steven Wolf and Mark Burstein, who listened to arguments Thursday.
Realmuto may be traded as part of the team’s payroll purge under new chief executive Derek Jeter. The Marlins already have dealt major league home run champion Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich. Realmuto made $562,500 last year and was eligible for arbitration for the first time after hitting .278 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs.
Bour hit .289 with 25 homers and 83 RBIs last year, when he had a $552,500 salary.
Boston All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts and Arizona pitcher Shelby Miller won the first two cases of the year.
Houston closer Ken Giles had a hearing Thursday, and Toronto closer Roberto Osuna went before a panel on Friday. Both were eligible for arbitration for the first time.
As many as 25 players could go to hearings this year, which would be the most since 1987.
Osuna asked Wolf, Robert Herzog and James Darby for a raise from $552,400 to $5.8 million instead of the Blue Jays’ $5.3 million offer. The 22-year-old right-hander was 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA and 39 saves last season, raising his three-year total to 95. But he also led the major leagues with 10 blown saves in 2017.
Giles asked Phillip LaPorte, Strongin and Sylvia Skratek for a raise from $555,100 to $4.6 million – $400,000 more than Houston’s offer. He had 34 saves in 38 chances and went 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA last year for Houston. While the Astros won their first World Series, Giles had an 11.74 ERA in the postseason and 27.00 ERA in a pair of World Series appearances, when he allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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