Notes on arbitration cases, Gold Gloves and more

If you were told there would be no math, you were misinformed about today's blog.

Let's take a look at how much more money a list of 11 arbitration-eligible players will cost the Orioles in 2015. To do this, we look at the salaries those players earned in 2014 and what they are projected to make in 2015 through arbitration, according to projections from MLBTradeRumors.com.

* Ryan Flaherty from $513,000 to $1 million.
* Zach Britton from $522,000 to $3.2 million.
* Miguel Gonzalez from $529,000 to $3.7 million.
* Chris Tillman from $546,000 to $5.4 million.
* Steve Pearce from $850,000 to $2.2 million.
* Brian Matusz from $2.4 to $2.7 million.
* Tommy Hunter from $3 to $4.4 million.
* Alejandro De Aza from $4.25 to $5.9 million.
* Bud Norris from $5.3 to $8.7 million.
* Matt Wieters from $7.7 to $7.9 million.
* Chris Davis from $10.35 to $11.8 million.

Those 11 players earned a total of $35.96 million in 2014 and, if paid as projected next year, will earn a total of $56.9 million for a total increase of $20.94 million.

Players that go through arbitration for the first time often get big raises as they go from making at or near the major league minimum to potentially earning millions in one season.

Three key O's pitchers in Britton, Tillman and Gonzalez go from a collective $1.598 million to a collective $12.3 million.

That is a nice raise, but that is the baseball economic system. The organization received the production they got from all three players at a baseball bargain in 2014, but now their salaries start to climb. But if all three perform in 2015 as expected, they will still be well worth the dollar amounts.

In one sense, you want your players to earn such raises. That generally means they are performing well. You also need some younger players to come through to balance out the higher salaries. Almost no team could afford a team of 25 players earning $10 million per year.

Say no way to A.J.: Pitcher A.J. Burnett is a free agent and available again. I take it he still lives in Monkton and he said he wants to play for a contender next season. If he wants to play for the Orioles, I think the time has come for them to just say no to Burnett, a pitcher they seem to be linked to often.

I'll credit Burnett for this: He turned down a player option with the Phillies worth $12.75 million for next season that could grow to $14.5 million. If another team signs him, he is likely to get less, maybe a lot less. He clearly wants out of Philly.

Burnett pitched most of last season with a hernia condition that required postseason surgery. He wound up going 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA. He led the National League in losses and allowed the most earned runs and walks of any starter in the league. In 14 starts after the All-Star break, he went 2-10 with a 5.82 ERA.

Injury or not, the Orioles seem to have no need for Burnett right now. Now is the time for the O's to pass on Burnett, no matter where he lives or wants to play.

Going for the Gold: For an organization that prides itself on defense, it was nice to see the Orioles awarded three Gold Gloves last night as they tied Kansas City for the major league lead.

Adam Jones won in center field, Nick Markakis in right field and J.J. Hardy at shortstop.

The Orioles have now won three Gold Gloves for three straight years for the third time in club history (also 1969-71 and 1973-76).

2012: Jones, Hardy, Matt Wieters
2013: Jones, Hardy, Manny Machado
2014: Jones, Hardy, Markakis

Stat of the day: Today, we're looking at the top American League clubs in fielding percentage last season:

.986 - Orioles, Angels, Mariners
.985 - Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox
.984 - Yankees, Twins