Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and Pirates ace Paul Skenes received the largest bonuses as part of MLB’s pre-arbitration bonus pool system this season, according to the Associated Press. The bonus pool system gives extra money to the top performing players in their pre-arbitration years (i.e fewer than three years of service time) based on awards voting and WAR.
A total of 100 bonuses are given out each year and the bonus pool is worth $50 million total. Here are the eight players who netted a seven-figure pre-arbitration bonus:
- Bobby Witt. Jr., Royals: $3,077,595
- Paul Skenes, Pirates: $2,152,057
- Gunnar Henderson, Orioles: $2,007,178
- William Contreras, Brewers: $1,722,174
- Cole Ragans, Royals: $1,638,013
- Jarren Duran, Red Sox: $1,321,661
- Jackson Merrill, Padres: $1,191,534
- Luis Gil, Yankees: $1,098,628
It’s worth noting that all players in their first three years of service time are eligible for this bonus pool, even if, like Witt, they’ve signed a long-term contract extension.
Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick received the smallest bonus at $232,549. The bonus is paid by the team and they are then reimbursed by MLB’s central fund. Each team chips in $1.67 million (1/30th of $50 million) toward the bonus pool each year.
Pre-arbitration players make something close to the league minimum but are often among the best players in the game thanks to their youth and athleticism. As part of the current collective bargaining agreement, the MLB Players Association prioritized putting more money in the pockets of pre-arbitration players. The bonus pool helps accomplish that.
Bonuses are handed out based on awards voting and a joint version of WAR. There are several public versions of WAR (Baseball Reference, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, etc.), each with different inputs, and MLB’s joint WAR relies on several rather versions rather than one. Here are the bonuses for awards voting:
| 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th and 5th place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
MVP and Cy Young |
$2.5 million |
$1.75 million |
$1.5 million |
$1 million each |
|
Rookie of the Year |
$750,000 |
$500,000 |
— |
— |
|
All-MLB Team |
$1 million |
$500,000 |
— |
— |
Players can only receive one awards voting bonus. Skenes, for example, received $1.5 million for finishing in third base in the NL Cy Young voting, but not the $750,000 for winning NL Rookie of the Year. He then received another $652,057 based on joint WAR.
The top 100 pre-arbitration players in joint WAR receive bonuses, adding up to a fairly large group of players that includes middle relievers and bench players. The bonus pool is set at $50 million for the duration of the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires in Dec. 2026. Back in January 2022, our R.J. Anderson looked at potential issues with the bonus pool system.
