Pablo López went to a salary arbitration hearing with the Miami Marlins on Friday, with the right-hander asking for $3 million and the team arguing for $2.45 million.
The case was heard by Allen Ponak, Scott Buchheit and Brian Keller. A decision will be witheld until other players have their hearings.
López, 26, was 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts last season, striking out 115 and walking 26 in 102 2/3 innings. He is 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in eight starts this year with 48 strikeouts and 11 walks in 46 innings.
López is eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $595,000 last year.
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No statistics or evidence from after March 1 are admissible other than contract and salary comparisons, timing set when Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed to the deal that ended the lockout.
Team have a 3-2 lead in decisions: Seattle second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier ($8 million) and Kansas City outfielder Andrew Benintendi ($8.5 million) won and Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley ($3.95 million), injured Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson ($3.6 million) and St. Louis outfielder Tyler O’Neill ($3.4 million) also lost.
A decision remains pending for Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser.
Sports
Arbitration hearings usually are held during the first three weeks of February but were delayed by the lockout.
Hearings scheduled through June 24. Players scheduled for hearings include Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall, pitcher Max Fried and Dansby Swanson, along with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt, Minnesota catcher Gary Sánchez, Philadelphia pitcher Zach Eflin and Miami catcher Jacob Stallings.
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