Five Red Sox file for salary arbitration

Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Players across Major League Baseball without a defined contract were eligible to file for salary arbitration on Tuesday. A total of 146 players have officially filed, including all five eligible members of the Boston Red Sox. Players and teams will exchange figures on Friday – formally requesting what they’d like for a salary for the upcoming season. Hearings will be scheduled for mid to late February in front of a panel of arbitrators who’ll make the final decision, assuming that the two sides are unable to reach an agreement before then.

Boston may be one team fortunate enough to avoid any arbitration hearings, as there’s confidence in the team’s ability to sign all five to deals before that will be necessary.

Jonathan Herrera and Burke Badenhop are the two newest additions to the team, having both come over in December trades. Neither is anticipated to cost a great deal, according to MLB Trade Rumors’ projections. Herrera could end up landing around $1.2 Million, as he’s in is second year of arbitration. Badenhop checks in closer to $2.1 Million. This will be his final year or arbitration as he’ll be eligible for free agency next winter.

Andrew Miller will also be entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, but his actual raise will likely be limited thanks to injuries that have kept him off the field. He projects to earn $1.9 Million.

Finally, Mike Carp and Junichi Tazawa are both heading into their first year of arbitration eligibility but both could see solid raises. Tazawa emerged as the team’s primary setup man in front of Koji Uehara, which could help earn him a bump to $1.1 Million. Carp proved to be a reliable bat and glove off the bench, filling it at multiple positions, and could see his salary jump to $1.3 Million.

MLBTR’s projections peg the total for the five players at around $7.6 Million for the 2014 season – a rather modest sum.