Texas Rangers Roster News and Rumors 2016: Mitch Moreland and Rangers Avoid Arbitration, Agree on One-Year Deal
The Texas Rangers and Mitch Moreland were about to embark on a particularly rare case of arbitration hearing when both parties eventually agreed right in the nick of time. Instead of hearing the very first salary arbitration for the team in more than 10 years, Moreland agreed to receive $5.7 million, which is quite close to what he demanded ($6 million), while the Rangers first proposed a salary of $4.6 million.
The back-and-forth negotiations eventually went in favor of the 30-year-old first baseman, with the simple reason that the club didn't want to lose him and fight him in a very awkward scenario wherein teams are left with no choice but to dig in deeper to its players' merits, arguing why they should be paid less than what they are asking.
For the most part, those players and teams who had to go through an arbitration hearing end up separating in a year or two since it's pretty difficult not to harbor hard feelings after the proceedings. In Moreland's case, the Rangers apparently didn't want to go to that direction.
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The last time the Rangers went to an arbitration hearing was in 2000 when Lee Stevens won against them. The result of that was Stevens eventually getting shipped to Montreal.
The best argument for Moreland's case is the fact that he had the best performance of his entire career last season, where he hit a career high 23 homers, as well as produced exceptional numbers like 85 RBIs and 47 extra-base hits. He is expected to test free agency after this season.
He also is quite lucky when it comes to arbitration, having gotten a raise without resorting to hearing for the third straight time. His salary for 2016 is way above of what he received last season, which was $2.9 million. Aside from manning first base, Moreland is also versatile enough to be able to fill in as right fielder and designated hitter.
