Atlanta Braves and RHP Mike Foltynewicz fail to come to an agreement

Braves and front end starting pitcher, Folty, fail to agree to terms

Today – a couple of hours ago, actually at 1pm ET – was the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to file for arbitration and agree to the contract details.  Thus, there has been a flurry of reports from all over of players agreeing to terms with their parent clubs to avoid the annoying task that is the arbitration hearing.

That kind of agreement didn’t happen for one Atlanta Braves pitcher.

The Braves and Mike Foltynewicz failed to agree on figures and will now venture down the path of salary comparisons and additional paperwork.

Does either side like going the distance?  Most likely not.  I know the Braves don’t.

How’s all this arbitration stuff work?

The Braves have adopted the “File and Trial” policy used by a handful of other clubs:  once the filing deadline is reached, the negotiations end there.  The next step (today) is that each side exchanges numbers – the salary figures they will be prepared to defend at trial – and then each side will make their case in front of an arbitrator sometime in late February.

The last time the Braves went to trail was in 2015 with Mike Minor.  Prior to that, they have not gotten all the way to the trial room since 2001, when John Rocker took them there.  Rocker lost that trail and the Braves paid him $1.9M that year.

Also going to trail that year was Andruw Jones and Kevin Milwood.  Jones won his arbitration hearing and was awarded $8.2M while Milwood lost and received a $3.1M deal.

On a number of occasions, the “strict policy” has been otherwise bent or twisted beyond recognition when one side of the other proposed something that the other side couldn’t ignore.  Usually this have taken the form of a multi-year deal of some sort.

Such was the case in 2014 with Jason Heyward (a 2 year deal) and for Craig Kimbrel (who instructed his agent to go get something done after he saw others getting long-term deals… now he has one, too).

How did we get to this?

This is Folty’s 1st of four arbitration years (he is a Super-2 player).  It’s in the Braves’ interest to keep the figures as low as possible; it’s likewise clearly in Folty has interest to raise the bar, for it acts like a ‘multiplier’ (sort of) for future negotiations.

MLB Trade Rumors predicted the arbitration salary for Folty would be $2.7M.  If I was a guessing man, which I am, I’d say the Braves were offering closer to the $2M range, but Folty wanted more.

This is where it gets kinda ugly and awkward.

The Braves “people” will point out the facts about Folty’s inconsistencies on the mound and how he lost his cool too many times.  They’re point out that in 2017, Folty gave up zero runs in only two games and gave up more than five runs in seven appearances.  The Braves will say his walks were up (3.4 per nine innings) and he hit 10 batters.  They’re going to dive deep into his numbers and sabermetrics to see his flaws.

Folty’s camp on the other hand will dig for why he’s a special pitcher.  Like his 143 strikeouts and that he’s improving every year he pitches.  He’s only 26-years-old and he’ll be a front line starter for the Braves.  Anything and everything Excel Sports Management can find, they will.

Whoever convinces the arbitrator that they are “more right” than the other guy will win the day.  And their salary number.

Next: Adonis Garcia Is Officially Heading to South Korea

You may think this could hurt the relationships between the two parties, but remember…though we all love this “game”, it’s still a business.

Let’s see if they end up getting that far.