LAKE BUENA VISTA — Colin Poche had no issue with the way the Rays presented their ultimately successful arbitration case against him, noting they were “above board” and didn’t “take any low blows,” sticking to the “baseball facts.”
Certainly not like ace Corbin Burnes, who said his relationship with the Brewers was “definitely hurt” by their arguments.
But Poche was quite unhappy with the panel of three professional arbitrators who ruled against him, even with a spread of only $125,000 between his $1.3 million ask and the team’s $1.175 million offer, smallest of the 33 players who were scheduled for hearings (with 19 actually going).
“I was a little shocked to hear the results, just sitting through the case, hearing the facts that were presented on both sides,” Poche said. “I thought my agency, and the lawyers from the Players Association, made a really strong case. I thought we had a good chance.
“But that’s kind of what happens when you leave it up to a panel of arbitrators who have experience in the process, but they’re outside the realm of baseball. So there’s a lot of things that maybe we place more importance on that they don’t fully grasp the same level of importance. So that’s just kind of what happens when you go through a process like that.”
For example, Poche, who made 46 appearances in the fifth through eighth innings and 16 in the ninth, felt more should have been made of the 16 holds he recorded than his six blown saves (three of which were in the seventh and eighth innings) in 13 chances. He saw the panelists taking copious notes about holds and took that to be a sign they didn’t “fully grasp how important that is for (relievers who aren’t closers).”
Salary arbitration arguments are often based on comparisons of players with similar service time, and Poche also felt the panel gave too much weight to the Rays’ points about him missing 2020-21 due to injuries. In 2022, he was 4-2, 3.99 with seven saves in 65 games.
Reliever Ryan Thompson was “absolutely” disappointed to lose, getting $1 million rather than the $1.2 million he sought, but also said the Rays played nice.
Thompson, who also has missed time due to injuries, was somewhat philosophical about the process, noting even in losing, “I’m making $1 million dollars to play baseball. That’s freaking awesome. Right? Like that’s really freaking cool.”
Thompson said he turned down a $1.1 million offer because he and his reps felt he deserved $1.2 million, and had he won he would have donated the extra $100,000 to charity. Instead he suggested the team spend its $200,000 savings to buy cryotherapy (extreme cold) or Proteus Motion workout equipment.