2016 NATIONAL BASEBALL ARBITRATION COMPETITION

Nathan Eovaldi v. New York Yankees

Submission on Behalf of the New York Yankees
Midpoint: $5,575,000

 New York Yankees

Table of Contents

I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision..1

II. Nathan Eovaldis Contribution to the New York Yankees in 2015.1

III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions....3

IV. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects.5

V. Past Compensation...5

VI. Comparative Salaries of Equivalent Players6

a. Homer Bailey, SP (CIN): 2012 Platform Season 5.35M Salary in 2013..6

b. Jair Jurrjens, SP (ATL): 2011 Platform Season 5.5M Salary in 2012..7

c. Francisco Liriano, SP (MIN): 2010 Platform Season 4.3M in 2011....8

VII. Recent Performance of the Yankees9

VIII. Concluding Remarks..10

Table of Authorities

Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference, LLC, http://www.baseball-reference.com

Baseball Prospectus, www.baseballprospectus.com

ESPN, ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports, http://espn.go.com

MLB, MLB Advance Media, L.P., http://www.mlb.com

MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, 2012-2016 Basic Agreement, Article VI(E)(10).

 New York Yankees

I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision

The following brief analyzes the contributions of starting pitcher Nathan

Eovaldi (Mr. Eovaldi) to the New York Yankees (the Yankees or the Club) for the

purposes of salary arbitration. Over his five-year career spanning 2011-2015, Mr. Eovaldi has

accumulated 4.013 years of service time and has appeared in a total of 110 games for three MLB

clubs, including 106 as a starting pitcher.

This arbitration hearing is governed by the Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining

Agreement (CBA) made between the 30 Major League Clubs and the Major League Baseball

Players Association (Players Association).1 The criteria to be considered under CBA Article

VI, Subsection E includes: (1) the quality of the players contributions to his club during the past

season; (2) the length and consistency of his career contributions; (3) the players past

compensation; (4) comparative baseball salaries; (5) the existence of any physical or mental

defects; and (6) the recent performance of the club.2 With 4.013 years of service time, Mr.

Eovaldi is now eligible for his second round of arbitration.

Mr. Eovaldi has a promising future with the Club; however, the Club has reservations

about his reliance on the Clubs offensive success and the inconsistency of his career

contributions. The Club has offered Mr. Eovaldi a generous $4.95 million contract for the 2016

season while Mr. Eovaldi has requested a $6.20 million contract. Based on the above criteria, it

is clear that Mr. Eovaldi deserves a salary below the $5.575 million salary midpoint. Therefore,

the Club respectfully submits that the panel award Mr. Eovaldi a one-year contract for the

requested team salary of $4.95 million for the 2016 season.

II. Nathan Eovaldis Contribution to the New York Yankees in 2015

1
MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, 2012-2016 Basic Agreement, Article VI, Part E, 10(a)-(b).
http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/pdf/cba_english.pdf.
2
Id. at 10(a).

1

 New York Yankees

During the course of the 2015 season, Mr. Eovaldi took advantage of the Clubs powerful

offense and showcased both his potential and his inefficiencies. In his first season with the Club,

Mr. Eovaldi recorded the most wins on the Club with fourteen3 and had the highest Win-Loss

Percentage (.824) in the American League.4 He was also able to accumulate 27 starts, only two

behind the Clubs Ace, CC Sabathia.5

Table 1: 2015 Statistics

GS W L W-L % ERA IP WHIP BB SO

27 14 3 .824 4.20 154.10 1.451 49 121

While Mr. Eovaldi produced key wins in a season where the Club made the Wild Card6,

those wins were dependent on the offensive and defensive success of the Club. In Mr. Eovaldis

27 starts and 14 wins, he recorded only 10 Quality Starts7 and an alarming 7 Cheap Wins.8 Mr.

Eovaldi allowed too many batters on base and too many runs in his 154.10 innings pitched, as

evidenced by his walks plus hits per innings pitched ratio (WHIP) of 1.451 and his earned runs

average (ERA) of 4.20. In addition, Mr. Eovaldi often put his team behind early as evidenced by

his first inning ERA of 5.74. Mr. Eovaldi was never able to record a win in a 2015 regular-

season game where his club did not produce at least 3 runs. For a starting pitcher, who is relied

upon by his club to start 27 games, it is alarming to see that Mr. Eovaldis wins were dependent

upon the success of his teammates rather than his ability to strikeout batters and limit runs. A

3
Baseball-Reference, 2015 New York Yankees, http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/2015.shtml.
4
Baseball-Reference, 2015 American League Pitching Leaders, http://www.baseball-
reference.com/leagues/AL/2015-pitching-leaders.shtml.
5
Baseball-Reference, supra note 3.
6
MLB, Regular Season Standings, http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/#20151004.
7
Quality Starts (QS) are a statistic that designate when a pitcher pitched at least six innings and allowed three or
fewer runs in a start.
8
Cheap Wins (Wchp) are a statistic that designate when a pitcher records a win in less than six innings pitched or
more than 3 runs allowed or a win in a non-quality start.

2

 New York Yankees

high WHIP and ERA will drastically diminish a pitchers value and his clubs ability to generate

wins.

Table 2: Wins Breakdown

GS Total W Wchp QS QS % W: 0-2 Runs W: 3-5 Runs W: 6+ Runs

Scored Scored Scored

27 14 7 10 37% 0 6 8

There is also an alarming discrepancy between Mr. Eovaldis statistics when playing at

home as opposed to playing away. On the road, Mr. Eovaldis ERA is 1.99 higher, his WHIP is

.407 higher and he allowed 31 more hits in two less innings pitched. These statistics raise serious

concerns for the Club as to Mr. Eovaldis ability to produce quality wins away from Yankee

Stadium.

Table 3: Home and Away Split

Split W L ERA G IP R H SO WHIP SO9 SO/W

Home 5 1 3.22 13 78.1 28 72 59 1.251 6.8 2.27

Away 9 2 5.21 14 76.0 44 103 62 1.658 7.3 2.70

III. Length and Consistency of Career Contribution

While the 2015 season was Mr. Eovaldis best, it was his first winning season and his

first with the Yankees, leaving the future uncertain. In his five-year career, three teams, including

the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins and the New York Yankees, have relied on Mr.

Eovaldi to start a total of 106 games. Unfortunately, before joining the Yankees, Mr. Eovaldi

was never able to produce more than six wins and he accounted for only four wins in two of

3

 New York Yankees

those four seasons. In addition, Mr. Eovaldi has never received nor has he been mentioned as a

candidate for any major MLB award.

Table 4: Career Statistics

Year W L GS ERA IP H BB SO WHIP H9 SO9 SO/W

2011 1 2 6 3.63 34.2 28 20 23 1.385 7.3 6.0 1.15

2012 4 13 22 4.30 119.1 133 47 78 1.508 10.0 5.9 1.66

2013 4 6 18 3.39 106.1 100 40 78 1.317 8.5 6.6 1.95

2014 6 14 33 4.37 199.2 223 43 142 1.332 10.1 6.4 3.30

2015 14 3 27 4.20 154.1 175 49 121 1.451 10.2 7.1 2.47

Total 29 38 106 4.10 614.1 659 199 442 1.397 9.7 6.5 2.22

While Mr. Eovaldi had an impressive 2015 season with respect to wins, his career

numbers are unimpressive overall, even during his most successful 14 win season. He has a

career losing record, an ERA of 4.10, and a career WHIP of 1.397. Although Mr. Eovaldi

recorded his first winning season and his first 7+ win season, his career numbers indicate that he

may not be able to sustain that success nor does the Club feel comfortable in valuing his

production solely on one winning season.

Although Mr. Eovaldi has pitched over 614 innings, he has not been able to demonstrate

a consistent pattern of success in producing a winning record and has produced an alarming track

record of an inability to retire batters with few runs allowed, as evidenced by his high career

ERA, his high career WHIP and his low strikeout numbers. Due to his status as a player up for

his second round of arbitration, there is a relatively large sample size to judge his future

potential. Based on his career statistics, it appears likely that his WHIP will hover around 4 and

4

 New York Yankees

his ERA around 4+ with a losing record. These numbers will not solidify Mr. Eovaldi at the front

of the Clubs pitching rotation until he can prove that he is able to sustain the winning record he

produced last year. Therefore, the Club has offered a value that honors Mr. Eovaldi production

last season, but hesitates to pay further until he can show more consistency in his wins.

IV. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects

Mr. Eovaldis medical history has been plagued by a lingering right arm injury that

forced him to get Tommy John surgery in high school.9 In 2013, he missed 69 games due to

shoulder inflammation in his right arm.10 Additionally, after a season in which Mr. Eovaldi

started 27 games, he was unable to finish that season, after an MRI in early September revealed

right elbow inflammation. It remains unseen how Mr. Eovaldi will respond to that setback.

Unfortunately, when the team needed Mr. Eovaldi most, he was unable to play in the postseason.

Given this recent issue toward the latter part of Mr. Eovaldis best season, his medical history

along with his pattern of average production should be a significant factor in calculating his

salary. This physical defect makes Mr. Eovaldi a potential liability and when taken into account

with his poor track record as a starting pitcher, he should be awarded the Clubs offer of

$4,950,000.

V. Past Compensation

In 2015, Mr. Eovaldi made $3,300,000 in what was his first year of eligibility for

arbitration.11 On December 19th, 2014, he was traded from the Miami Marlins to the New York

Yankees.12 Although Mr. Eovaldis 14 win season is deserving of a raise in salary, his decrease

9
See Wallace Matthews, Yanks Nathan Eovaldi Unlikely to Return for Remainder of Regular Season, ESPN
(September 8, 2015) http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/13610991/new-york-yankees-right-hander-nathan-
eovaldi-unlikely-return-remainder-regular-season.
10
Baseball Prospectus, Nathan Eovaldi, http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=57820.
11
Baseball-Reference, Nathan Eovaldi Statistics and History, http://www.baseball-
reference.com/players/e/eovalna01.shtml.
12
Id.

5

 New York Yankees

in games started, innings pitched, strikeouts and increase in WHIP, H9 and SO9 indicate that his

value as a pitcher is dependant to the talent on the Club. This is further supported by the fact that

he never had a winning season when pitching for a team that finished the season with a losing

record. Therefore, after evaluating his career statistics, the Club believes his raise should be to

$4,950,000 million until Mr. Eovaldi can prove he can sustain a wining record.

VI. Comparative Salaries of Equivalent Players

To evaluate Mr. Eovaldis major league market value, it is necessary to compare him to

other pitchers with similar statistics in their platform season and their careers. Given his

statistics, major league service time and salary, Mr. Eovaldi is in a similar situation to Mr. Bailey

in 2012, Mr. Jurrjens in 2011 and Mr. Liriano in 2010.

The first comparison to Mr. Eovaldi is Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey.

Mr. Bailey is a good comparison to Mr. Eovaldi because of their similar years of service, games

started and both produced their first 10+ win season in their platform year. In Mr. Baileys

platform season of 2012, he had one less win than Mr. Eovaldi. However, Mr. Bailey produced a

Quality Start in 64% of his games compared to Mr. Eovaldi who only produced Quality Starts in

37% of his games. In their platform seasons, Mr. Bailey outperformed Mr. Eovaldi in games

started, innings pitched, ERA, WHIP, Strikeouts, SO9 and H9. In addition, Mr. Bailey was not

nearly as reliant on his teams powerful offense as Mr. Eovaldi was, as evidenced by Mr. Bailey

earning two of his 13 wins when his team produced less than three runs while Mr. Eovaldi was

not able to produce a single win when his club did not produce at least three runs. Finally,

although like Mr. Eovaldi, Mr. Baileys platform year was his best year with respect to wins; Mr.

Bailey produced three winning seasons before his platform year while Mr. Eovaldi never had a

winning season. For his efforts in his platform year and his ability to sustain a winning record,

6

 New York Yankees

Mr. Bailey was rewarded with a salary of $5,350,000. He outperformed Mr. Eovaldi throughout

his entire career and in his platform year and therefore Mr. Eovaldi does not command a salary

above $5,350,000.

Table 5: Homer Bailey Salary: $5,350,000

Homer Bailey 4.017 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2012) 13 10 33 208 3.68 1.240 168 1 64% 7.3 8.9

Career 38 33 111 644 4.50 1.382 506 5 49% 7.1 9.3

Nathan Eovaldi 4.013 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2015) 14 3 27 154.1 4.20 1.451 121 7 37% 7.1 10.2

Career 29 38 106 614 4.10 1.397 442 10 54% 6.5 9.7

The second comparison player used to evaluate Mr. Eovaldis market value is his

comparison to Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens. Mr. Jurrjens is a strong comparison to

Mr. Eovaldi because of their similar years of service as well as their games started and innings

pitched in their platform seasons. While the innings pitched are roughly the same, Mr. Jurrjens

was able to last longer in the games he pitched, as evidenced by his four fewer starts and he was

also able to outperform Mr. Eovaldi in several categories. Mr. Jurrjens ERA was 2.96 compared

to Mr. Eovaldis 4.20, he produced Quality Starts in 70% of his game with only one Cheap Win

compared to Mr. Eovaldi who only had Quality Starts in 37% of his games with 7 Cheap Wins.

In addition, Mr. Jurrjens had a winning record in all five of his seasons, was a Rookie of the Year

candidate and was named an All-Star in his platform year. Mr. Eovaldi has yet to be mentioned

7

 New York Yankees

as a candidate for a major award and has never been voted an All-Star. While the two pitchers

had 13 or more wins pitching roughly the same amount of innings in their platform seasons, Mr.

Jurrjens had both a stronger overall platform season and a consistent winning career. Even as an

All-Star in his platform year with three 13+ win seasons, Mr. Jurrjens earned under the midpoint

and therefore, without any awards linked to Mr. Eovaldi nor an ability to produce multiple

winning seasons, the statistics indicate Mr. Eovaldis salary should absolutely be lower than Mr.

Jurrjens $5,500,000 and lower than Mr. Eovaldis midpoint.

Table 6: Jair Jurrjens Salary: $5,500,000

Jair Jurrjens 4.047 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2011) 13 6 23 152 2.96 1.224 90 1 70% 5.3 8.4

Career 50 33 115 702.1 3.40 1.284 480 12 60% 6.2 8.5

Nathan Eovaldi 4.013 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2015) 14 3 27 154.1 4.20 1.451 121 7 37% 7.1 10.2

Career 29 38 106 614 4.10 1.397 442 10 54% 6.5 9.7

The third and final comparison to Mr. Eovaldi is Francisco Liriano. Mr. Liriano and Mr.

Eovaldi both had 14 win seasons after losing seasons. However, although Mr. Liriano had

seventeen less starts than Mr. Eovaldi through their platform seasons, in Mr. Lirianos first five

seasons, he was able to produce 9 more wins, a better ERA, a better WHIP and 125 more

strikeouts than Mr. Eovaldi was able to produce in his first five seasons. In their platform

seasons, Mr. Liriano had Quality Starts in 65% of his 31 starts and was able to produce two wins

8

 New York Yankees

when his club was unable to score at least three runs compared to Mr. Eovaldi who never won a

game without at least three runs and only had Quality Starts in 37% of his 27 games.

Recognizing Mr. Lirianos success on the mound in producing 38 wins, being named an

All-Star and being nominated for the Rookie of the Year as well as the CY Young award, he was

well deserving of his $4.3M. After taking into account the salary difference between 2010 and

2015 as well as the fact that Mr. Liriano had the same Tommy John Surgery that Mr. Eovaldi

had, the Club believes Mr. Eovaldi is similar to Mr. Liriano and is therefore offering a similar

salary of $4,950,000.

Table 7: Francisco Liriano Salary: $4,300,000

Francisco Liriano 4.104 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2010) 14 10 31 191.2 3.62 1.263 201 1 65% 9.4 8.6

Career 38 32 89 549.0 3.97 1.288 567 8 53.9% 9.3 8.4

Nathan Eovaldi 4.013 Years of Service

W L GS IP ERA WHIP SO Wchp QS% SO9 H9

Platform (2015) 14 3 27 154.1 4.20 1.451 121 7 37% 7.1 10.2

Career 29 38 106 614 4.10 1.397 442 10 54% 6.5 9.7

VII. Recent Performance of the Club

The Club had an exciting season last year that ended with a loss in the American League

Wild Card Game. The Yankees finished the season with 87 wins and were six games behind the

Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Club is always in playoff contention,

evidenced by twelve playoff appearances in the last fifteen seasons. The Club is hoping to

9

 New York Yankees

reclaim the division title this upcoming season and is excited by Mr. Eovaldis potential. For a

Club that finished 9th in wins by starters, the Club was alarmed to finish 19th in ERA, 15th in

WHIP and 14th in strikeouts.13 Mr. Eovaldi did not help those team statistics with his 4.20 ERA,

1.451 WHIP and 121 strikeouts where he finished fourth amongst the Clubs starters. The future

success of the Club will be based on the improvement of its pitching staff and whether or not Mr.

Eovaldi can show signs of better statistics in those categories while sustaining a winning record.

VIII. Conclusion

After Mr. Eovaldis first season with the Club and after posting his first winning season

of his career, the Club believes Mr. Eovaldi has the potential to be a key member of the Clubs

pitching rotation that will try to reclaim the American League East Division title in 2016.

However, given Mr. Eovaldis career losing record and his below average statistics in his only

winning season, the Club has concerns about his ability to sustain a winning record. It remains

unseen how Mr. Eovaldi will respond to the injury that kept him out of the final weeks of last

season and whether or not he can bring down his ERA while producing more Quality Starts.

Looking at comparable players, many had stronger overall platform seasons as well as more

consistent careers and received less than the midpoint in Mr. Eovaldis arbitration.

Based on the evidence provided in this brief, the New York Yankees respectfully request

that this panel find the Clubs offer of $4,950,000 to be an appropriate salary for the 2016

season.

13
ESPN, Nathan Eovaldi Statistics and History, http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching.

10