PHOENIX | Washington closer Chad Cordero and San Diego second baseman and former Cub Todd Walker went to salary arbitration Tuesday in the final hearings of the year.
Cordero, 7-4 with a 3.19 ERA and 29 saves last season, asked arbitrators Elizabeth Neumeier, Margaret Brogan and Stephen Goldberg for a raise from $525,000 to $4.15 million. The Nationals argued for a $3.65 million salary.
Walker asked Neumeier, Jack Clarke and Steven Wolf to increase his salary from $2.5 million to $3.95 million, while the Padres submitted a $2.75 million figure. Walker hit .278 with nine homers and 53 RBIs last year, became a free agent, then accepted San Diego's arbitration offer in December.
Decisions were expected today.
Owners lead players 4-1 in cases decided thus far. The Los Angeles Dodgers' Joe Beimel ($912,500), Florida's Kevin Gregg ($575,000), Washington's John Patterson ($850,000) and Tampa Bay's Josh Paul ($625,000) lost their cases, and Florida's Miguel Cabrera ($7.4 million) won.
