Tom Wilhelmsen loses arbitration case

Mariners' reliever Tom Wilhelmsen took one look at the numbers and fancied himself a good candidate for the club's first arbitration hearing since Freddy Garcia in 2003. But unfortunately for The Bartender, the Mariners were the ones victorious after Friday's arbitration deadline, and he will now receive the club's original $1.4 million dollar offer for the 2015 season.

Wilhelmsen was seeking $2.2 million from the club, ostensibly pointing to his 24 saves as the M's closer in 2013 to suggest he deserved more than a middle reliever's salary. But with two closers between then and now, and with a fairly defined role during 2014 that will most likely carry over into 2015, the judge ruled in the club's favor for the lower number.

Jon Heyman was first with the report, and with Alejandro De Aza losing his case against the Orioles this morning, all arbitration cases for the 2015 season are now complete. This offseason saw the most arbitration hearings since 2001, which matched this year's total of eight club wins in 14 cases.