Lo and behold, Jered Weaver and the Angels are actually headed to arbitration with an actual arbitration hearing. The righty, the team, and all requisite suits for both sides will be sitting down with a three-person panel today in Phoenix. The case for Weaver: He wants a salary bump for 2011, up to $8.8 million from around $4.3 million. The team's response: You'll take our $7.375 million offer and like it, mister.
Halos Heaven has some uneasy feelings about today's talks (which, again, could still not happen at all if an agreement is reached in the next couple hours):
Why would a team risk going to arbitration with a player they are seeking to sign to a long-term deal? From what I understand, during the arbitration hearing, both side argue as to why the play should be paid the submitted salary. In other words, Weaver will explain why he's worth $8.8 million, while the Angels will argue he's not that good and is only worth $7.375 million. If you're the Angels, do you really want to risk pissing Weaver off if you're trying to convince him to stay in Los Angeles?
Stay tuned to Halos Heaven this afternoon for more on the particulars and outcome of this case.