Twins agree with all arb-eligible players but Arraez

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins reached a contract agreement with all but one of their arbitration-eligible players ahead of Friday’s deadline to exchange figures, with reigning American League batting champion Luis Arraez remaining as the only player in that group whose contract terms are still unresolved for the 2023 season.

Jorge Alcala ($790,000), Kyle Farmer ($5.585 million), Jorge López ($3.525 million), Tyler Mahle ($7.5 million), Chris Paddack ($2.4 million), Emilio Pagán ($3.5 million) and Caleb Thielbar ($2.4 million) all agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, according to a source.

The Twins and Arraez could still settle ahead of a possible hearing that typically takes place in February, but if the impasse gets that far, the team and player would each present a proposed salary figure to a three-person panel of independent arbitrators, which will select one of the numbers after hearing arguments.

It has been rare for the Twins to get all the way to trial with arbitration-eligible players, though they’ve had two such cases under this front office’s leadership. Most recently, José Berríos went to a hearing ahead of the 2020 season and lost his case to the Twins, earning a salary of $4.025 million instead of the $4.4 million he sought.

Two years before that, the Twins also won an arbitration hearing with Kyle Gibson, who earned $4.2 million instead of his requested $4.55 million. Prior to that hearing, Minnesota hadn’t gone to a hearing with a player since it did so with Kyle Lohse in 2005 and ‘06.

Arraez won his first batting title in 2022 while also earning his first All-Star selection and Silver Slugger Award. He hit .316/.375/.420 with a career-high eight homers in a career-best 144 games, fueled by an offseason of working on his physique with former teammate Nelson Cruz, with whom he is training again at Cruz’s home in the Dominican Republic. He is due a raise from the $2.125 million he made last season, which marked his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Lee headlines 25 non-roster invitees to Spring Training
The Twins often like to bring in their first-round Draft selection to Major League Spring Training for a closer look at their development, and that will be the case for 2022 first-round pick Brooks Lee, who is among the 25 non-roster players with an invitation to big league camp, as announced by the club on Friday.

Lee, ranked the No. 1 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline and No. 32 overall, rose as high as a two-game look in Double-A in his first season of pro ball, hitting .303/.388/.451 in 31 games across three levels. He’ll be joined by four other Top 30 prospects among the NRIs: infielder/outfielder Austin Martin (No. 12), right-handed pitcher Blayne Enlow (No. 24), first baseman Aaron Sabato (No. 26) and infielder/outfielder Michael Helman (No. 28).

Enlow made 25 appearances in 2022 as part of his return from Tommy John surgery, and he was designated for assignment on Jan. 6, when the Twins claimed Oliver Ortega off waivers from the Angels. Enlow cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Wichita on Friday.

Thirteen of the Twins’ NRIs have MLB experience, including a quintet of former Twins: Mark Contreras, Danny Coulombe, Randy Dobnak, Ryan LaMarre and Elliot Soto.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Twins Spring Training on Feb. 15, with position players expected to report on Feb. 19 ahead of the first full-squad workout on Feb. 20. Single-game tickets for Spring Training went on sale to the public on Thursday.

Catchers (6): David Bañuelos, Jair Camargo, Chance Sisco, Grayson Greiner, Chris Williams, Tony Wolters

Infielders (7): Andrew Bechtold, Michael Helman, Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, Aaron Sabato, Elliot Soto, Tyler White

Outfielders (3): Willi Castro, Mark Contreras, Ryan LaMarre

Pitchers (9): Danny Coulombe, Evan Sisk, José De León, Randy Dobnak, Blayne Enlow, Cody Laweryson, Patrick Murphy, Austin Schulfer, Brock Stewart