NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. led the pre-arbitration bonus pool this year with 3,077,595 and Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes was second with 2,152,057, despite not having debuted in the Major Leagues until May 11.
Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson was third with 2,007,178, followed by Milwaukee catcher William Contreras with 1,722,174 and Kansas City pitcher Cole Ragans with 1,638,013, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.
Also exceeding one million dollars were Boston outfielder Jarren Duran, with 1,321,661, San Diego outfielder Jackson Merrill, with 1,191,534, and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil, with 1,098. 628.
Baltimore outfielder Colton Cowser was ninth with 978,671, followed by Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio with 901,335, Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz with 860,710 and A’s reliever Mason Miller. with $825,276.
MLB and the union agreed to the annual fund in their March 2022 labor agreement in an effort to give more money to younger players.
Witt, second in American League MVP voting behind Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, has received $4,202,126 from the fund in his three years.
Seattle outfielder Julio Rodríguez earned 509,957 after topping the list last season. It raised its three-year total to 3,926,156.
Henderson has won 3,435,149, Contreras 2,808,762, Carroll 2,347,870, Ragans 2,019,346, Duran 1,659,673 and De La Cruz 1,130,087.
Some of the players have long-term contracts. Witt agreed in February to an 11-year contract for 288.7 million and Chourio, who was tenth with 901,335, agreed last December to an eight-year contract of 82 million, the largest for a player who has not yet debuted in the Major Leagues. Suspenders.
A total of 101 players will receive the payments under a plan aimed at giving more money to players without enough service time for salary arbitration eligibility at the start of the season, which was 2 years, 118 days. Players signed as foreign professionals are not eligible.
Milwaukee had the most players receiving money with eight, followed by Detroit with seven and Arizona, Cleveland and Seattle with six each.
An eligible player receives 2.5 million for winning an MVP or Cy Young Award, 1.75 million for second place in the voting, 1.5 million for third place, 1 million for fourth, fifth or first place selection all-MLB team, 750,000 for Rookie of the Year, 500,000 for second place in Rookie of the Year voting or second all-MLB team.
All-MLB teams are voted on by fans, media members, broadcasters, former players and officials.
A player is eligible to receive the bonus for one achievement per year, earning only the highest amount. The remaining money is allocated using a WAR formula.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
