2036.01 - The Long Beach Independent - Arbitration Season

[Lane]

TWO PLAYERS APPEAR HEADED TO ARBITRATION HEARING

November 20, 2035
Long Beach, CA

Salary arbitration hearings across the BBA are scheduled for tomorrow, and it appears that just two Surfers will be heading to a hearing. Earlier this month, the team agreed to extensions for the following players, thus avoiding a hearing:

Pepe Castillo (2/$8.4MM)
Pierre Legrand (1/$2.5MM)
Juan Parra (1/$4.4MM)
Irving Espinoza (1/$4.0MM)
Tom Kazansky (1/$6.0MM)

Castillo emerged out of nowhere in 2031 and has been a fixture in the LB rotation ever since. This two year deal will take him to free agency at age 33. Legrand looks towards a rebound in 2036 where he can be more of the second half pitcher than the first half pitcher he was in 2035. Parra will return as the everyday DH in his final year of team control. Kazansky proved himself capable of manning CF on a near daily basis last year, and will return in that capacity. Espinoza will have to return to his 2034 form to get back on the good side of the Long Beach fans, but he should have plenty of opportunity, as the rotation is just as much in flux now as it was throughout 2035.

The following players have been holding out for more than the Surfers have been willing to pay:

Harvey Specter (est. $950,000)
Mike Manning (est. $1,155,00)

Manning proved to have surprising value as a fourth OF for the Surfers in 2035, and Specter plays defense well enough to keep around for less than a million dollars.

Sources inside the team who wish to remain anonymous have told The Independent that the following players will not be tendered contracts before tomorrow's arbitration hearings.

Bobby Cruz
Alberto Rios
Jorge Garza

Cruz and Garza are relative unknowns and will not be missed. Rios will also not be missed, but he is more of a known name than the others. He was acquired in the 2026 trade that sent Tully Crow to the Vancouver Mounties. Appearing in parts of eight seasons with the Surfers, he never quite reached the potential that the front office envisioned he might have. Accruing only 4.6 WAR in those seasons, he peaked at 2.0 in 2032 with a .234/.300/.517 (109 OPS+) line. He had a memorable postseason in 2031, hitting .279/.380/.535 (138 OPS+) in 11 starts.

[RonCo]

Happy to see Pepe get his due.

[Lane]

Happy to see Pepe get his due.

He's certainly earned it. And at his age, he probably doesn't have many more big paydays in his future.

[recte44]

Looks like Legrand turned things around nicely. Good to see.

[Lane]

Looks like Legrand turned things around nicely. Good to see.

He did, thankfully. Would have been a really great season if he hadn't been SO BAD early on.