2014 MLB Salary arbitration news

Wieters, 27, topped 20 home runs for the third consecutive season in 2013 but posted a career-low .287 on-base percentage while appearing in a career-high 148 games. The switch-hitting backstop owns a lifetime .420 slugging percentage at the big-league level and owns a pair of Gold Gloves and All-Star selections.

The Orioles offered a $1 million raise from the $5.5 million that Wieters made a year ago, but the Georgia Tech alum countered with $8.75 million before ultimately settling for $75,000 more than the midpoint. Wieters will be a free agent after the 2015 season. He and the club have not discussed a long-term extension, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry.

For several MLB players, the grueling, invasive and downright corrosive salary arbitration hearing process will begin this week.

In 2013, 133 players filed for salary arbitration, and for the first time in the 40-year history of the process there were no hearings. So far in 2014, 19 of the 146 players who filed still haven’t come to an agreement on a 2014 contract.

Here is a team-by-team overview of every player eligible for the arbitration process in 2014 who was tendered a contract. For those who didn’t already reach agreements, players and teams exchanged salary figures on January 18.

Dodgers

Scherzer was the best starting pitcher in a loaded Detroit rotation in 2013. He went 21-3 last season with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts; the performance earned him 28 out of 30 first-place votes en route to his first Cy Young award. He also drew the start in his first All-Star Game and earned a pair of wins in the ALDS against Oakland.

• Instant replay expansion approved

Today was the deadline for teams to exchange salary figures with arbitration-eligible players. Several one-years deals have been announced as teams attempt to avoid the arbitration panel. Last offseason, for the first time in the 40-year history of the process, no cases went to hearing.

That might not be the case again this winter, as several notable players, like Craig Kimbrel, Homer Bailey, and others, have yet to come to an agreement with their respective teams. Players can still negotiate and sign new deals between now and their hearings, but some teams have adopted a “file and trial” strategy that could lead to certain players seeing the panel.

Headley is coming off a somewhat disappointing encore of his breakout 2012 campaign.

After hitting .286/.376/.498 with 31 homers for the Padres that season, Headley slugged just 13 home runs last season. He still posted a .250/.347/.400 batting line in 2013, and was excellent defensively at third, but the dip in homers and runs batted in likely cost him some money this offseason.

Zimmermann will earn $7.5 million next season and $16.5 million in 2015.

The 27-year-old right hander has been dominant since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2009. He’s pitched over 600 innings since, going 40-30 for the Nationals with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He was named an All-Star for the first time last season, and finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting.