This might seem like a random story but it’s relevant for a couple reasons around here:
- Mickey Moniak is a former #1 overall pick who could be considered one of the bigger position-player busts of the century
- The Angels are relevant for having the following former Chicago baseball players:
- Kyle Hendricks
- Jorge Soler
- Tim Anderson
- Yoan Moncada
- Nicky Lopez (Naperville guy)
- It’s an opportunity for some education on MLB contracts
So let’s get into it
Mickey Moniak was the #1 overall draft pick in 2016 by the Phillies out of a southern California high school. He struggled in A ball to start his career. Then struggled in a full season at A+ and then struggled even more in a full year at AA. All-in it took him over 4 years to make the majors and then he sucked once he got there and that’s for a number of reasons. Most notable is that he can’t get on base because he’s not a skilled baseball player. So the Phillies trade him to the Angels and he actually looks Not Too Shitty.
Specifically he had his first good season in 2023 with a 114 OPS+ in 320 plate appearances.
But then he sucked again in 2024 and it became confusing when salary arbitration came up this winter and the Angels had to figure out his compensation.
Was he the 114 OPS+ player from 2023? Or was he the dogshit busted prospect that’s falling off a cliff at any time?
The Angels thought one side. Mickey thought the other. So off to arbitration they go because they can’t settle the case.
At this point I should remind you that almost every arbitration case gets settled before it gets to this point because it’s a sensible negotiation. Each side submits a number and the arbitrator picks what he thinks is the best offer.
That incentivizes both the team and the player to submit a fair offer.
For example, Mickey Moniak can’t ask for $10M when the Angels and the market are suggesting $1.5M. If that happened, the arbitrator would easily pick the Angels $1.5M.
So Moniak’s incentivized to offer the highest amount he can without being completely over the top. He thought that was $2M.
And again, this is almost always settled between the player and the club long before getting the “court” involved.
Well unfortunately that’s exactly what happened when the Angels and Mickey Moniak did not agree this winter. Moniak wanted $2M and the Angels wanted to pay him $1.5M. So they went to arbitration over it which means Moniak’s agents argued against the Angels lawyers in front of a court-designated arbitrator in a very formal fancy pants dispute resolution.
AGAIN – this is almost always decided on a casual conference call. You rarely have to ask the courts to get involved but in this case they did.
Ultimately, the court sided with Moniak and order the Angels to pay him a $2M salary, which is $500K more than the Angels thought was appropriate.
So what did they do?
They released Mickey Moniak after hitting .173 this spring. And because they had to go as far as having his salary arbitrated, they’re entitled to only pay him for just 1 month of the season which is about $350K.
Comparatively, if Moniak agreed to settle with the Angels at $1.5M before the arbitration hearing, they’d be liable for the full amount because the salary was agreed upon by both parties.
But in this case, the Angels are protected by the fact that the salary was determined by the courts. So they only have to pay a pro-rated amount of his contract which the CBA says is one month.
Ergo, Moniak’s career woes continue as he loses out on over $1M in guaranteed salary, mostly because the Angels were salty he took them to arbitration.
The takeaway?
Hit better than .173 next time you take your employer to court.