Most players who enjoy career-best seasons get a raise. Neil Wagner got a $25,000 pay cut.
The 30-year-old Toronto Blue Jays right-hander emerged as a surprise contributor last year, posting a 3.79 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 38 innings of relief for the Blue Jays. But because players who don’t yet qualify for arbitration have little negotiating power, Wagner’s salary dropped despite the protestations of his agent.
Teams determine the salaries of pre-arbitration eligible players more or less unilaterally, often using systems based on service time and playing time. Wagner signed with the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent before 2013 on a deal that paid him $525,000 at the MLB level. He’s now earning the MLB minimum of $500,000 after the Blue Jays determined to offer him $506,500 for 2014 — $6,500 more than the big league minimum. Instead of accepting the pay reduction, Wagner allowed the Blue Jays to renew his salary at $500,000, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported.
“Neil and I are thankful for the opportunity the Jays provided and which he seized and excelled in,” agent Jim Munsey told Sportsnet. “We are disappointed, however, that they have chosen to reward his efforts by imposing a pay cut for 2014. All Neil wanted was to be treated fairly. Given that nobody else on the Jays nor candidly, probably anyone in baseball has been asked to take a pay cut, the Jays decision is disappointing.
“He will continue to work hard and try to contribute the best he can to a successful Jays season in 2014.”
In most cases teams assign players modest raises according to their service time and playing time. This means the likes of Brett Lawrie and Steve Delabar were slated to obtain modest bumps for 2014 (the Blue Jays do not publicly announce pre-arbitration deals).
Because baseball’s collective bargaining agreement allows teams to determine the salaries of pre-arbitration eligible players, the Blue Jays have freedom to pay those players what they please, as long as the figure sits above the league minimum and doesn’t represent a pay cut of more than 20 percent.
In other words a pay cut for Wagner is within the Blue Jays’ rights even if it’s unwelcome for the player and uncommon across the sport. Few pre-arbitration eligible players have to take pay cuts. On occasion players such as Jeff Samardzija have seen their salaries reduced because they obtained lucrative MLB deals as drafted players before seeing their salaries drop once the draft deals expired.
Though Munsey voiced his concerns to the Blue Jays’ decision makers, it’s the team’s prerogative to set Wagner’s salary. The MLB Players Association has little recourse in a situation like this, since players and agents are dependent on teams’ decisions before becoming eligible for arbitration.
Wagner didn’t make the Blue Jays’ crowded bullpen out of spring training, but was soon recalled by the team. The Minneapolis native has a minor league option remaining, which allowed the Blue Jays to send him to triple-A Buffalo without exposing him to waivers. He has pitched in two games since his promotion, logging 2.2 innings and striking out four batters.