Twins, Gary Sanchez settle on $9 million contract, avoiding arbitration

The Chicago Cubs had no game scheduled Thursday, but they probably had an activity on the docket: Willson Contreras' arbitration hearing. MLB is trying to clear this winter's backlog of lockout-delayed arbitration cases on teams' off days, and though the league is not announcing when arbitrators are hearing cases, the Cubs and Contreras suddenly reached a settlement Thursday.

"As is often the case, the closer you get to the actual hearing, the more serious negotiations get," Twins General Manager Thad Levine said of Contreras' new $9.65 million contract, the midpoint of the Cubs' $9 million offer and Contreras' $10.25 million request.

Why is Contreras' case of interest to the Twins? Because they have a veteran catcher in his final year of arbitration eligibility, too, one who was also awaiting an arbitration hearing. And just an hour or two after Contreras' settlement was announced, the Twins and Gary Sanchez decided to meet in the middle, too.

In Sanchez's case, that means a $9 million salary for 2022, halfway between the Twins' offer of $8.5 million and Sanchez's $9.5 million proposal. Like Contreras, Sanchez can become a free agent in November.

Though Levine did not disclose details of the Twins' thinking, the team had made it clear it was willing to go to a long-delayed hearing to establish Sanchez's salary. But Contreras' settlement, particularly at a figure so close to Sanchez's ask, changed their odds of succeeding, since comparison to similarly experienced players is a main part of most cases.

"Prior to his settlement, neither did he affect us nor did we affect him, because we were both just going to a hearing," Levine said. "But most recent is most relevant. Once one [case] settled, the other was naturally impacted."

Sanchez's salary brings the Twins' payroll to roughly $138 million this season, up from last year's $120 million figure.

Cody Stashak came to spring training finally healthy after a nightmare 2021 season spent fighting a disc injury in his back.

His health didn't last long. During camp, the righthander began feeling pain in his bicep, and even with a couple of stints in the injured list, it never really went away.

"My last outing, it was really painful," Stashak said Thursday. "I was trying to throw through it my last outing, but the whole time I was hurting."

After meeting with surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache last week, he reluctantly realized he had only one option. He'll undergo surgery "to cut off part of the bicep and reattach it, and clean up the labrum" in his shoulder, Stashak said, next Thursday. He hopes to be able to pitch again next spring, though "it probably won't be ready to go until May."

The lone bright spot: Stashak will be able to spend time with his 2-year-old Colton and a daughter his wife, Taylor, is due to deliver later this month.

They also chose not to do delve into their Class AA team, because "you need to be mindful of the clubhouse, of the message it sends to guys. It was a unique opportunity, but it also was important that we were trying to compete, adding players that could help us win," Levine said. "If we were in a different competitive cycle," rather than first place, he said, "perhaps we would have explored other ideas. But it worked out well," with the Twins winning two of three over the Blue Jays.