Garcia

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02/12/2003 11:21 am ET

Garcia wins arbitration case

By Jim Street / MLB.com

 

 

 

 

Freddy Garcia has a career record of 60-29 with a 3.83 ERA. (Stevan Morgain/AP)

 

 

 

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mariners right-hander Freddy Garcia landed a $6.875 million contract for the 2003 season on Wednesday through salary arbitration.

A panel of three arbitrators ruled in favor of the Mariners' staff ace, who was offered $5.9 million by the team. Garcia made $3.8 million last season and went 16-10 with a 4.39 ERA.

 

Garcia, 26, attended the hearing in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tuesday afternoon and was en route back to Phoenix on Wednesday. He will resume Spring Training workouts on Thursday.

 

"You win some and you lose some," said Howard Lincoln, the Mariners' chief executive officer. "It's a process no one wants to go through, the player or the team, but let's move on and focus on getting this team ready for [Opening Day in] Japan and the season. That's what we are going to do."

 

Lincoln, who remained in Peoria while club president Chuck Armstrong, general manager Pat Gillick, assistant GM Lee Pelekoudas and team attorney Bart Waldman represented the club at the hearing, said efforts were made in Florida to avoid the final step of the process.

 

 

 

 

Freddy Garcia / P

 

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 235

Bats/Throws: R/R

 

More info:

Player page

Stats

Splits

seattlemariners.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We had a multiyear offer on the table that we thought was fair, and it was rejected," Lincoln said. "The Mariners did everything we could, either on a one-year deal or a multiyear deal, and certainly Freddy's agent [Peter Greenberg] did the same thing.

 

"But it wasn't to be. The gap was too great."

 

There are no plans to reopen negotiations on a multiyear contract with the right-hander, who has a 60-29 career record with the Mariners.

 

Lincoln learned of the arbitrator's decision when he arrived at the Spring Training complex. Armstrong had left a voice-mail message before boarding a flight from Tampa to Seattle.

 

"None of us were doing jumping jacks," said Lincoln when asked if he could tell from Armstrong's voice that Garcia had won.

 

Repercussions could come later.

 

The Mariners are working on a $92 million player payroll budget that includes a $2.5 million "contingency" fund that handles such things as bonuses and unexpected costs.

 

"It would be safe to say that this takes a significant bite out of that," Lincoln said. "I'll have to sit down with Chuck, Pat and Lee when they get back and talk about it."

 

It probably means that the team won't add payroll midway through the season, when contending teams jockey with the roster for their playoff push. Management was criticized last season for not making more deals before the July 31 trading deadline, although it actually had more to do with injured players than money.

 

"This definitely will have an impact," Lincoln said, adding that it won't affect the contracts of the players who remain unsigned.

 

Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story is not subject to approval by Major League baseball or its clubs.