Over 100 players earn bonuses as part of pre-arbitration pool
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Ten players earned a bonus of more than $1 million this year as part of the Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool, which was agreed upon between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement.
A total of 101 players earned bonuses as part of the program, with 25 earning at least $500,000.
Julio Rodríguez of the Mariners led the way with a bonus of $1,865,349, earning $1 million for his Top-5 finish in AL MVP voting and another $865,349 for ranking first in Joint WAR among pre-arb-eligible players.
Rodríguez was followed by Arizona’s Corbin Carroll ($1,812,337), Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman ($1,798,439), Atlanta’s Spencer Strider ($1,692,833) and Justin Steele of the Cubs ($1,673,331) as the biggest earners in the pool.
The other players who received a bonus of $1 million or more were Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish, Félix Bautista and Gunnar Henderson, Texas’ Jonah Heim and Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee.
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A total of 17 players who made their debuts in 2023 earned bonuses, led by Bibee ($1,016,931) and Cincinnati’s Matt McLain ($445,873).
The Orioles had a league-high seven players earn bonuses, taking home a combined $7.3 million – or 14.5% of the entire $50 million pool. Those players – Rutschman, Bradish, Bautista and Henderson – were part of a group of 11 players who received at least $500,000 from their notable award recognition:
Julio Rodríguez (4th in AL MVP)
Corbin Carroll (NL Rookie of the Year, First-team All-MLB, 5th in NL MVP)
Adley Rutschman (First-team All-MLB)
Spencer Strider (First-team All-MLB, 4th in NL Cy Young)
Justin Steele (5th in NL Cy Young)
Kyle Bradish (Second-team All-MLB, 4th in AL Cy Young)
Félix Bautista (First-team All-MLB)
Gunnar Henderson (AL Rookie of the Year)
Jonah Heim (Second-team All-MLB)
Tanner Bibee (2nd in AL Rookie of the Year)
Emmanuel Clase (Second-team All-MLB)
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(Note: Players qualifying for multiple awards bonuses receive the highest available bonus for which they are qualified, but do not receive more than one.)
The Mariners had six players earn bonuses totaling $4.1 million, the second-largest total of any club. The Orioles and Tigers each had seven players earn bonuses, the most of any club, while the Reds, Guardians, Twins, Mariners and Rays had six apiece.
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals and William Contreras of the Brewers finished second and third, respectively, in the Joint WAR rankings among eligible players, earning bonuses worth more than $800,000 apiece.