Six eligible Orioles file for arbitration

SARASOTA, Fla. - The six eligible Orioles filed for arbitration today, as expected: Pitchers Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Bud Norris and Troy Patton; first baseman Chris Davis; and catcher Matt Wieters. The two sides will exchange figures Friday as a starting point for contract talks. Hearings will be scheduled at a later date if agreements can't be reached. Normally, they split the difference and avoid the process. Either way, the players are under team control, making it one of the most overblown stories of the year. Their salaries must be determined. That's it. The Orioles signed Nolan Reimold ($1.025 million) and Steve Pearce ($850,000) to one-year deals last month, and they traded closer Jim Johnson to the Athletics. Davis made $3.3 million last season and he's in line for a substantial raise after hitting 53 homers, driving in 138 runs and finishing third in Most Valuable Player voting in the American League. Wieters earned $5.5 million last season while batting .235/.287/.417 with 22 homers and 79 RBIs. Hunter made $1.820 million while going 6-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 68 appearances. He's currently a favorite to close for the Orioles in 2014. Matusz, who has morphed into a lefty specialist in the bullpen, earned $1.6 million while going 2-1 with a 3.53 ERA in 65 games and holding left-handed hitters to a .168 average. Bud Norris, acquired from the Astros on July 31, made $3 million while going 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) with the Orioles. He was 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA in 21 starts with Houston. Patton made $815,000 while going 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 56 appearances. He will serve a 25-game suspension to start the 2014 season for testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The Players Association released the list of 146 players who filed for arbitration today: Freeman, Freddie AT Heyward, Jason AT Johnson, Chris AT Kimbrel, Craig AT Medlen, Kris AT Minor, Michael AT Schafer, Jordan AT Collmenter, Josh AZ Parra, Gerardo AZ Thatcher, Joe AZ Trumbo, Mark AZ Davis, Chris BA Hunter, Tommy BA Matusz, Brian BA Norris, Bud BA Patton, Troy BA Wieters, Matt BA Badenhop, Burke BO Carp, Mike BO Herrera, Jonathan BO Miller, Andrew BO Tazawa, Junichi BO Barney, Darwin CC Ruggiano, Justin CC Russell, James CC Samardzija, Jeff CC Schierholtz, Nate CC Strop, Pedro CC Valbuena, Luis CC Wood, Travis CC Bailey, Homer CI Chapman, Aroldis CI Heisey, Chris CI Leake, Mike CI Lecure, Sam CI Simon, Alfredo CI Brantley, Michael CL Masterson, Justin CL Outman, Josh CL Pestano, Vinnie CL Rzepczynski, Marc CL Tomlin, Josh CL Lopez, Wilton CO Morales, Franklin CO Nicasio, Juan CO Stubbs, Drew CO Beckham, Gordon CWS De Aza, Alejandro CWS Alburquerque, Al DE Avila, Alex DE Dirks, Andrew DE Jackson, Austin DE Porcello, Rick DE Scherzer, Max DE Castro, Jason HO Guzman, Jesus HO Bonifacio, Emilio KC Collins, Tim KC Crow, Aaron KC Hochevar, Luke KC Holland, Greg KC Hosmer, Eric KC Maxwell, Justin KC Freese, David LAA Frieri, Ernesto LAA Jepsen, Kevin LAA Salas, Fernando LAA Ellis, A.J. LAD Jansen, Kenley LAD Kershaw, Clayton LAD Cishek, Steven MIA Dunn, Michael MIA Stanton, Giancarlo MIA Estrada, Marco MIL Francisco, Juan MIL Duensing, Brian MN Plouffe, Trevor MN Swarzak, Anthony MN Davis, Ike NYM Duda, Lucas NYM Gee, Dillon NYM Murphy, Dan NYM Parnell, Bobby NYM Tejada, Ruben NYM Young Jr., Eric NYM Cervelli, Francisco NYY Gardner, Brett NYY Kelley, Shawn NYY Nova, Ivan NYY Robertson, David NYY Gentry, Craig OA Gregerson, Luke OA Jaso, John OA Johnson, Jim OA Lowrie, Jed OA Moss, Brandon OA Reddick, Josh OA Bastardo, Antonio PH Kendrick, Kyle PH Mayberry, John PH Revere, Ben PH Alvarez, Pedro PI Mazzaro, Vin PI Melancon, Mark PI Sanchez, Gaby PI Snider, Travis PI Walker, Neil PI Blanks, Kyle SD Cabrera, Everth SD Cashner, Andrew SD Headley, Chase SD Kennedy, Ian SD Ross, Tyson SD Morrison, Logan SE Saunders, Michael SE Smoak, Justin SE Abreu, Tony SF Arias, Joaquin SF Belt, Brandon SF Blanco, Gregor SF Petit, Yumeiro SF Bourjos, Peter SL Descalso, Dan SL Jay, Jon SL Hellickson, Jeremy TB Joyce, Matt TB Lobaton, Jose TB McGee, Jacob TB Price, David TB Ramos, Cesar TB Rodriguez, Sean TB Cotts, Neal TE Feliz, Neftali TE Moreland, Mitch TE Ogando, Alexi TE Cecil, Brett TO Rasmus, Colby TO Rogers, Esmil TO Blevins, Jerry WA Clippard, Tyler WA Desmond, Ian WA Detwiler, Ross WA Fister, Doug WA Ramos, Wilson WA Storen, Drew WA Zimmermann, Jordan WA