Third baseman Austin Riley and the Atlanta Braves did not come to an agreement prior to the arbitration deadline.
The deadline was at 1 p.m. ET today.
Obviously, that deadline was not met.
Robert Murray of FanSided notes that the Braves are a team with hard deadlines on arbitration negotiations.
Due to those “hard deadlines” not being met, it looks as though Riley and the Braves will be heading for an arbitration hearing in the near future.
Now, Riley and the Braves are set to battle it out for a new deal with the deadline behind us and a hearing looming.
Austin Riley and the Braves did not come to an agreement before the arbitration deadline, per sources. With the Braves being a team that has a hard deadline in arb negotiations, the two sides appear headed for an arbitration hearing.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) March 22, 2022
A Flawed System
The arbitration system is without a doubt, broken.
The players association has sought drastic changes to the system.
This was key point in CBA negotiations during the lockout and despite a new deal having been reached with the players getting back a good deal of leverage, that deal did not address the arbitration system.
The MLBPA ultimately dropped that request after the league and the owners saw what the players were proposing as a non-starter.
The system needs to be changed so that arbitration hearings can be avoided all together.
Players want and deserve more money and they should continue fighting for it, even with the lockout finally settled.
Players like Riley should get significant raises in arbitration, and should not be left with only a slight increase of salary.
Until the system is fixed, this is the way things stand in terms of arbitration.
Players aren’t getting fair deals and there appears to be no changes to the system in sight.
We’ll see if this becomes a major sticking point the next time the two sides have to negotiate a new CBA.
NEXT: Atlanta Sports Fans Left In Shock With Two Major Departures