SAN DIEGO -- The Padres took the suspense out of their decisions on Friday when they cut ties with Alex Dickerson and Cory Spangenberg earlier this month. As a result, the non-tender deadline came and went without any surprises in San Diego.
All six arbitration-eligible Padres were tendered a contract by Friday evening's cutoff. That list includes Bryan Mitchell, the only player of the bunch who was even remotely a candidate to be let go.
Mitchell struggled in 2018, and he missed two months with an elbow injury. But ultimately, his strong September -- during which he posted a 2.19 ERA over four starts -- earned him a shot at the '19 rotation.
In fact, Mitchell and the Padres came to an agreement on his salary for the 2019 season, which was reported as $910,000 by MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. San Diego also agreed with infielder Greg Garcia for the same amount.
That leaves Austin Hedges, Travis Jankowski, Kirby Yates and Robbie Erlin as the only Padres who still must come to an agreement with the club. They have a couple of months to negotiate a salary.
If a deal isn't struck by Jan. 11, both sides will submit a proposed salary for the 2019 season. But even then, they'd still have a few weeks to settle before a scheduled hearing. If they can't, an independent arbiter would decide between the two proposals.
The Padres haven't had an arbitration case reach a hearing during general manager A.J. Preller's tenure -- and not since Andrew Cashner won his in 2014.
The team's decision to tender contracts doesn't necessarily guarantee those players a spot on the Opening Day roster (though Hedges, Erlin, Jankowski and Yates are probably locks). The arbitration salary only becomes guaranteed if the player is on the 25-man roster when the season begins.
This applies to Mitchell in particular. He'll be part of a tight race for starting spots, one that currently features about 10 different pitchers. Were he to miss out on the rotation, he is out of Minor League options. (Though if the Padres were to cut ties with Mitchell or any of the other five this spring, they'd still be owed pro-rated termination pay.)