Today was the deadline to offer arbitration eligible players contracts, otherwise they’d become free agents. We offered arbitration to all our eligible players.
Mark Teixeira, Kevin Mench, Gary Matthews, Brad Wilkerson, Vicente Padilla, Joaquin Benoit, & Rod Barajas were the players all tendered contracts. Formally, San Diego offered arb to Adam Eaton, as he isn’t Ranger property until the trade is actually consumated.
Desired salaries from both sides (management, player) are exchanged sometime in the middle of January. If there’s no settlement on a contract between now and sometime in early February, there will be an actual arbitration hearing; something that hasn’t happened with the Rangers since 2000 (although I forget who the player was
If the sides don’t agree on a contract figure by mid-January, they’ll exchange desired 2006 salaries. If there is no settlement by early February, the sides will participate in an arbitration hearing, which usually is classified as ugly.
The Rangers haven’t gone to a hearing since 2000, when Doug Melvin was the GM. Can’t remember who the player was, though.