He is seeking $3.75 million, while the club is offering $2.65 million. Hearing date probably will be scheduled later this week, with that hearing to take place between Feb. 1 and Feb. 21. MLB has gotten really secretive over the past couple of years about the times and dates of those hearings, but my guess is this will be settled before it ever gets to that point. The Dodgers have had only two actual hearings (Eric Gagne in 2004, Joe Beimel in 2007) since assistant GM Kim Ng has been handling these things, and the club won both of them. Just a reminder, if it goes to a hearing, the arbitration panel (usually three people) must choose between the club’s figure and the player’s figure, with no wiggle room in between. But before it gets to a hearing, the sides still can negotiate a settlement somewhere in between, and the midway point in this case is, if my math is correct, $3.2 million. Ethier hit .305 with 38 doubles, 20 homers and 77 RBI, a good year by any measure. But $3.2 is still a pretty good raise for a guy who made $424,500 last year.
