FORT MYERS, FLA. – Taylor Rogers, who will be a free agent after this season, ended his final time through arbitration by agreeing to a $7.3 million salary for 2022.
A source confirmed Tuesday that the lefthanded reliever settled, shortly after the deadline for players and teams to exchange salary numbers.
The Twins will try to come to terms with their two other arbitration-eligible players, infielder Luis Arraez and catcher Gary Sanchez.
Arbitration allows players with three to six years of major league experience to negotiate their salaries with the team; it typically happens in mid-January, but was delayed by the lockout. The Twins have usually avoided arbitration by agreeing to deals before the exchange deadline. But those deals might have been harder to come by this season because of the lockout.
After the exchange, there will be a hearing at which players have to be present, meaning they will likely come on an off day. The Twins' only off day this spring is March 28, but hearings could stretch into early this season before a panel of arbitrators will choose either the club's or the player's salary offer.
Rogers made $6.25 million last season. Arraez, who made $611,000 last season, is eligible for arbitration for the first time, and Sanchez is also in his final year of arbitration eligibility. He made $6.35 million last season with the Yankees.
MLB.com reported Sanchez filed for $9.5 million and the Twins countered with $8.5 million, and Arraez filed for $2.4 million and the Twins proposed $1.85 million.
The Twins' most recent case that went all the way to arbitration was for pitcher Jose Berrios in 2020; he asked for $4.4 million but lost to the Twins' offer of $4.025 million. Kyle Gibson also lost his arbitration case in 2018, when arbitrators eschewed the pitcher's salary of $4.55 million in favor of the Twins' $4.2 million. That was the first arbitration case for the Twins since 2006.