Ryan Yarbrough and the Tampa Bay Rays took part in the most-anticipated arbitration hearing of the past three years yesterday, and while we will unfortunately never learn exactly what arguments were made and why the arbitrators sided how they did, their decision will be as close to a precedent-setting court ruling as MLB arbitration ever gets.
But for reasons we had no way of predicting back in 2018 — a season-shortening pandemic and some extreme batted ball data — this decision will only work as precedent if the panel chooses the player’s side.
Previously, Jared Ward wrote a fantastic guide to the arbitration process, and then followed that up with a look at comparable players and what they got in arbitration.