Like a lot of people, I was expecting the Indians to call up Matt LaPorta after the team traded both Ben Francisco and Victor Martinez. I was surprised when they didn’t, especially since Victor played first base part-time, which is allegedly the position the organization is grooming La Porta for.
I know, I know. Andy Marte has to be looked at for 1B, too. And they needed Trevor Crowe to back up Grady Sizemore in CF. Okay…
But none of this, really, is my point. My point is that for the past two and a half weeks I’ve heard several reporters and fans complain about the fact that LaPorta wasn’t called up. Most of them, including Terry Pluto on today’s Cleveland.com podcast, explicitly state their overall confusion about the matter. They have no explanation.
Well, friends of JMID, this is why I’m here, to go out into the wild and find logic when others fail to believe it exists.
The short potential answer on why LaPorta wasn’t brought up to “the Show”?
Salary arbitration.
The way arbitration works in MLB is like this. Players are typically eligible for abitration after three years of service. One year of service equals 172 days in the big leagues.
However, there’s also such a thing as a “Super Two” player. The definition is a little complex, but the “Super Two” designation is essentially a way to qualify for arbitration if you’ve been in the league more than 2 years (344 days) but less than 3 (526 days).
Historically, players become “Super Two” arbitration-ready when they’ve served 2 years and 128 days of service (this number fluctuates because of the 17% qualifier, which you can read more about in either of the previously noted links).
Now if LaPorta had been called up on July 31st when Crowe was and had stayed up for the rest of the season he would have added 66 days of service to his total, which currently sits at 25 based on the time he was with the Indians in May.
The MLB season this year will have covered 182 days once it ends on October 4th. Let’s assume then that the two seasons after this one will account for the same number of days.
Let’s also assume LaPorta plays the entirety of both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
This would mean that by the end of the 2011 campaign, if LaPorta had been called up on July 31st, instead of September 1st as he likely will be, he would have 2 years, 111 days of service.
This would put him very close to the “Super Two” threshold, about 17 days away from it to be precise. These 17 days, I believe, could easily be made up if the Indians were to make the playoffs in either 2010 or 2011. Plus, like I said, the “Super Two” number itself does fluctuate.
By not calling LaPorta up on July 31st, the Indians were able to cut 32 days off LaPorta’s total, assuming they do bring him up on September 1st when rosters expand.
Based on how the numbers siphon out, these 32 days could keep the Indians and LaPorta away from arbitration for an entire year. This would save the organization a significant amount of money, depending on how well LaPorta performs.
The trade-off is that LaPorta didn’t get to play a bunch of meaningless games in Cleveland in August. For the Indians, I suspect, that is far less of a concern than getting to arbitration faster, particularly since LaPorta has only been a pro since 2007.
Obviously, I’m not an expert in the MLB salary arbitration rules but this, at least, seems like a somewhat reasonable scenario for why LaPorta might have been held back.
If nothing else, at least I bothered to look and try and find an explanation - which is more than a lot of other people could say for themselves.
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