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Thursday was Major League Baseball arbitration salary filing day, the deadline for arbitration-eligible teams and their players to submit salary figures for the 2025 season. Specifically, the filing deadline is 8:00 PM ET, with a soft deadline of 1:00 PM ET for contract agreements.
Basically, the player submits the salary they think they should be paid in 2025, and the team submits the salary they think they should be paid in 2025. If they disagree, they go to an arbitration hearing where each party presents their positions. case and a three-person panel chooses the salary the player submitted or the salary the team submitted. Nothing in between. The arbitration hearings will begin later this month.
The vast majority of arbitration-eligible players sign one-year contracts for the upcoming season before the filing deadline. Only a handful actually submit salary information, and even fewer go to a hearing. Hearings can be controversial (Corbin Burnes said he was “hurt” by his hearing with the Brewers in 2023) and both parties try to avoid them where possible.
Players with 3-6 years of service are eligible for arbitration. This also applies to players in the top 22% with service between 2 and 3 years. These players are called Super Twos and undergo arbitration four times instead of the usual three. The Super Two limit this offseason was two years and 132 days of service time (commonly written as 2,132).
In general, arbitration salaries are based on comparable players at the same service time level. A player with three years of service time who performed better than a player with six years of service time could have a lower salary in 2025 because of, well, service time. Length of service is important in arbitration. It’s not purely about performance.
Here now are the notable signatories – and non-signatories – from Thursday’s arbitration salary filing deadline.
Guerrero avoids arbitration with $28.5 million deal
The most notable development on Thursday was that the Blue Jays and star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agreed to pay $28.5 million to avoid arbitration. according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Guerrero, a year removed from free agency, defeated the Blue Jays in an arbitration hearing last season. MLB Trade Rumors projected a salary of $29.6 million for Guerreroand while he didn’t quite reach that mark, he still agreed to one of the largest one-year contracts ever for an arbitration-eligible player.
Here are the largest one-year contracts for arbitration-eligible players:
- Juan Soto, 2024 Yankees: $31 million
- Shohei Ohtani, 2023 Angels: $30 million
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2025 Blue Jays: 28.5 million
- Mookie Betts, Dodgers 2020: $27 million
- Nolan Arenado, Rocky Mountains 2019: $26 million
Guerrero is a Super Two and he earned a total of $42.3 million in his first three arbitration years from 2022-2024. His 2025 salary will put his career earnings over $70 million over his four arbitration years. The record for most money earned through arbitration is Soto’s $79.6 million in his four years as a Super Two from 2021-2024.
Padres sign Arraez and quit
It’s been a very quiet offseason for the Padres, who have disagreements at the ownership level and an estimated 2025 payroll that is nearly $20 million higher than their 2024 payroll. Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease, two players entering their final seasons of team control, are both in the trading bloc while San Diego tries to reduce payroll and free up money to address other roster needs (left field, catcher, back of the rotation, etc.). On Thursday, the Padres agreed to 2025 contracts with Arraez ($14 million) and Cease ($13.75 million), which doesn’t take them off the trade bloc. It just means that their salaries for 2025 are locked in, and interested trade partners now know exactly how much they will make next season. Removing salary uncertainty could lead to trade talks.
Hook, Donovan talking extensions
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet ($3.8 million) was among the players who agreed to a one-year contract before Thursday’s deadline, and a longer-term deal could be in place. Crochet and the Red Sox have discussed a multi-year extension. The Cardinals and super utility Brendan Donovan have done the same. according to MLB.combut the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on Thursday and will instead exchange salary figures. Even after signing his 2025 contract, Crochet (and any arbitration-eligible player) could still work out a long-term extension. He and the Red Sox could sign an extension that starts in 2026, or even tear up their 2025 contracts and immediately agree to a long-term deal. Thursday’s deadline doesn’t mean it’s too late to sign a multi-year extension.
Other notables
Every season, several dozen players go through the arbitration process. Here are the other players who agreed to a 2025 contract worth at least $7 million before Thursday’s deadline:
- Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks: $13.5 million
- Randy Arozarena, sailors: $11.3 million
- Josh Naylor, Diamondbacks: $10.9 million
- Tarik Skubal, Tigers: $10.15 million
- Ranger Suarez, Phillies: $8.8 million
- Brady singer, Reds: $8.75 million
- Carlo Mullins, Orioles: $8.725 million
- Ryan Helsley, Cardinals: $8.2 million
- Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays: $8.2 million
- Aaron Civale, Brewers: $8 million
- Lane Thomas, guards: $7.826 million
- Taylor Ward, Angels: $7.825 million
- Alec Bohm, Phillies: $7.7 million
- Logan Gilbert, sailors: $7.65 million
- Nestor Cortes, Brewers: $7.6 million
It should be noted that players who sign before the filing deadline (i.e. everyone listed above) will receive fully guaranteed contracts. In the past, pre-arbitration and arbitration contracts were not guaranteed, and players released during spring training received a 30-day or 45-day termination fee, depending on the timing of the release. If you sign now before the filing deadline, you will be locked in to your full salary for the season.
Unsigned players
As always, several players were unable to agree on a contract before Thursday’s filing deadline. Some of those players will agree to 2025 contracts in the coming weeks, in which case submitting salary figures will have been nothing more than a step along the way. Others do not agree to a contract and go to an arbitration hearing. Among the players who did not agree to a contract for 2025 before Thursday’s deadline are Jarren Duran (Red Sox), Michael King (Padres), Brendan Donovan (Cardinals), Jorge Mateo (Orioles), Mickey Moniak (Angels), Lars Nootbaar (Cardinals), Johan Oviedo (Pirates), Andre Pallante (Cardinals), Luis Rengifo (Angels), Dennis Santana (Pirates) and Taylor Walls (Rays).