As Spring Training quickly approaches, the Minnesota Twins front office is hard at work actually doing things -- which is in stark contrast to how most of the winter has gone.
To be fair, the ongoing drama with Diamond Sports Group and the uncertainty around a TV deal forced the Twins to slash its payroll to account for lost future revenue. The noose has loosened a bit in recent weeks, with Minnesota trading Jorge Polanco and freeing up some cash to sign Carlos Santana, and a bridge deal approved that determined Bally Sports North will indeed air games for another season.
Another order of business was wrapped up on Saturday, when the a hearing ruled in favor of the Twins in its arbitrations hearing with Nick Gordon.
Gordon lost his arbitration hearing against the Twins, which means he'll get paid $900,000 this season rather than the $1.25M he had filed for.
Nick Gordon has lost his arbitration hearing against the Twins, per source. Gordon will earn $900,000 in 2024; he had filed for $1.25 million.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 11, 2024
So what happens next?
Nick Gordon lost his arbitration against Twins, so what happens next?
This ruling mostly impacts the Twins payroll, as it shaves almost $400,000 off what the team might have had to budget to pay Gordon. Instead they'll get him on a deal worth less than $1M, and Gordon will try again next year to argue for a higher salary.
As far as his eligibilty, now that the case is settled, it's business as usual in terms of Gordon being a part of the 26-man roster. The question is how long he stays there, but that has more to do with hwo things shake out in Spring Training than anything to do with his salary for this season.
After Gordon's hearing, all seven of the players the Twins tendered back in November have been taken care of one way or another. Every other player was able to settle outside of a hearing, with Gordon being the only one whose case went to an independent ruling.
Gordon is arbitration-eligible for the next three seasons, and won't become an unrestricted free agent until 2028. A lot can happen between now and then, though, including the two sides coming to terms on an extension that avoids this situation in the future.