JUPITER, Fla. • The merger of a camera and mobile phone was still about a year away when the Cardinals last walked into a hearing room to argue a player’s salary before an arbiter.
When they face Michael Wacha and his representation Monday in Florida, Cardinals officials will be completing the arbitration process for the first time since 1999, when they defeated pitcher Darren Oliver. The closest they’ve come since was in 2009, when within hours of the hearing they agreed to a deal with outfielder Rick Ankiel.
The Cardinals drew a line this season with their arbitration-eligible players, telling each that if they did not reach an agreement before the salary exchange then they would go to a hearing.