Detroit Tigers, Casey Mize can't agree on salary for 2024. Here's what happens next
The Detroit Tigers and right-hander Casey Mize couldn't agree on a one-year contract for the 2024 season before Thursday's deadline to exchange salary figures as part of the arbitration process.
That means the Tigers and Mize will head to arbitration after exchanging salary figures on Thursday night. Sometime between Jan. 29-Feb. 16, a panel of arbitrators will review the case and select one of the two figures: Mize filed at $840,000; the Tigers filed at $815,000 (as first reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal).
Mize was projected to receive $1.2 million by MLB Trade Rumors, but the arbitrators can only select one of the two values for 2024.
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The Tigers, led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris, operate as a "file-and-trial" club in salary arbitration, which means there won't be further negotiations with Mize regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract, though, could be negotiated before the upcoming hearing.
In this case, however, the Tigers don't plan to pursue a multi-year deal because Mize hasn't pitched for the Tigers since April 14, 2022. Rather, the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick has spent the past 19 months recovering from surgeries on his elbow and back. He is expected to be healthy for spring training in mid-February.
The Tigers agreed to contracts with their three other arbitration-eligible players: left-hander Tarik Skubal ($2.65 million), catcher Jake Rogers ($1.7 million) and outfielder Akil Baddoo ($1.55 million).
This offseason is the first year of arbitration eligibility for all four. Players can negotiate salaries after accruing three years of service time. Mize is under team control through the 2026 season, so he gets two more years of the salary arbitration process before reaching free agency.
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Several other arbitration-eligible players didn't agree to contracts before Thursday's deadline, including high-profile players such as Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Devin Williams. The Baltimore Orioles didn't agree to terms with five of their 13 players.
Still, the total of players headed to arbitration is down from last offseason, at 23 compared to 33 players last winter.
The Tigers have been to one arbitration hearing since 2001: Right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019. In that case, Fulmer filed for $3.4 million and the Tigers filed for $2.8 million, with the Tigers winning and saving $600,000.
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The Tigers, by the way, operated as a "file-and-trial" club only briefly in former general manager Al Avila's tenure. In Avila's final year with the organization, the Tigers and right-hander Spencer Turnbull couldn't agree to terms on a contract for the 2022 season and exchanged salary figures, but before the arbitration hearing, the two sides agreed to a two-year contract.
Earlier this offseason, the Tigers non-tendered Turnbull and forced him into free agency.
The Tigers and Mize are headed to an arbitration hearing over $25,000, with MLB's minimum salary set for $740,000 in 2024.
Mize has a 4.29 ERA with 56 walks and 148 strikeouts across 188⅓ innings in parts of three seasons in his MLB career, including a 5.40 ERA across 10 innings before suffering an elbow injury in April 2022. He underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers, Casey Mize head to arbitration over $25,000
