Mets Arbitration Update: Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, And The Mets Submit Numbers

Bobby Parnell may have settled on a 2013 contract early, but Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy have submitted proposals for their 2013 salaries for potential arbitration hearings in February. The Mets submitted their own proposals, too, with a lower salary for each player.

Davis has been worth 2.9 fWAR per 600 plate appearances thus far in his career, despite a putrid first two of months in 2012 — his 171 plate appearances in that span account for 12.8 percent of his career total. Even if he gets $3.7 million in arbitration, he's incredibly likely to be worth his salary and then some. Murphy's been worth 2.5 fWAR per 600 plate appearances over his career, which means he, too, is likely to be worth even his maximum salary this year.

The long-term concern for the Mets is that the players' salaries will only continue to escalate in subsequent arbitration years, and the more each player makes this year, the more he might be able to earn through arbitration in the future.

The most likely outcome here is that both players settle for a salary that bridges the gap with the team's offers, as players and teams generally avoid the awkward arbitration hearing the grand majority of the time.