Feb 16, 2023

Corbin Burnes, Brady Singer lose in salary arbitration

Posted Feb 16, 2023 3:48 AM
<b>Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer delivers against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Sept. 30.</b> (AP Photo/Phil Long, file)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer delivers against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Sept. 30. (AP Photo/Phil Long, file)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two-time All-Star Corbin Burnes and Brady Singer lost in salary arbitration on Wednesday.

Burnes will receive $10.01 million from the Milwaukee Brewers rather than his $10.75 million request, Melinda Gordon, Jules Bloch and Keith Greenberg ruled one day after hearing arguments.

Singer will get $2.95 million rather than $3,325,000 from the Kansas City Royals, according to the decision by Howard Edelman, Walt De Treux and Brian Keller.

Teams have a 5-3 lead in decisions.

Three players went to hearings on Wednesday: Los Angeles Angels infielder Gio Urshela ($10 million vs. $8.4 million), St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley ($3 million vs. $2.15 million) and Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas ($2.9 million vs. $2,575,000).

Five other players await pending decisions and four more have possible hearings.

Burnes, a 28-year-old right-hander, was 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA last year and made a career-best 33 starts, which tied for most in the major leagues. He led the National League with 243 strikeouts, second in the big leagues behind New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole at 257. Burnes earned $6.55 million.

He won the 2021 NL Cy Young Award after leading the majors with a 2.43 ERA. He went 11-5 for the Brewers that year.

A five-year veteran, Burnes is 35-19 with a 3.21 ERA. He is eligible for free agency after the 2024 World Series.

Singer, a 26-year-old right-hander, was 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 24 starts and three relief appearances last year, when he had a salary of $726,250. He was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on April 28 and recalled on May 17.

Singer was eligible for arbitration for the first time.

All-Star pitcher Max Fried ($13.5 million) lost to Atlanta earlier, outfielder Kyle Tucker ($5 million) was beaten by Houston and reliever Diego Castillo ($2.95 million) was defeated by Seattle.

Left-hander Jesús Luzardo ($2.45 million) and AL batting champion Luis Arraez ($6.1 million) both beat Miami, and reliever Jason Adam ($1,775,000) defeated Tampa Bay.

The 31-year-old Urshela hit .285 with 13 homers and 64 RBIs last season for Minnesota, which traded him to the Angels on Nov. 18 for minor league right-hander Alejandro Hidalgo. Urshela earned $6.55 million.

His case was heard by Fredric Horowitz, Jeanne Charles and Stephen Raymond.

Urshela is primarily a third baseman. He has a .275 batting average with 62 homers and 256 RBIs in parts of seven seasons with Cleveland (2015, '17), Toronto (2018), the Yankees (2019-21) and the Twins. He is eligible for free agency after this year's World Series.

Helsley, a 28-year-old right-hander, was 9-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 19 saves in 23 chances over 54 relief appearances, earning $722,450 . He struck out 94 and walked 20 in 64 2/3 innings. His case was heard by Bloch, Jeanne Vonhof and John Woods.

Rojas, also 28, set career bests with a .269 average and 56 RBIs while hitting nine home runs. He earned $730,900. Rojas' case was heard by Keller, Mark Burstein and Scott Buchheit.

Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Luis Rengifo await decisions along with Rays pitchers Colin Poche and Ryan Thompson, and Tampa Bay outfielder Harold Ramírez.

Seattle outfielder Teoscar Hernández, Pittsburgh first baseman Ji-Man Choi, Cardinals left-hander Génesis Cabrera and Philadelphia reliever Seranthony Domínguez have possible hearings this week.