There were 155 players eligible for arbitration at the start of the year and a majority were expected to agree to deals.
Among them, sources told ESPN:
- Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez agreed to a $14 million salary and right-hander Dylan Cease agreed to $13.75 million for the 2025 season with the San Diego Padres.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to deals with starting pitcher Zac Gallen ($13.5 million) and first baseman Josh Naylor ($10.9 million). Gallen went 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA and 156 strikeouts last season, while Naylor batted .243 with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs.
- The Seattle Mariners reached an $11.3 million deal with outfielder Randy Arozarena, who batted .219 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs last season.
- The New York Yankees and two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams, who was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, agreed to an $8.6 million contract.
- The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers locked in a pair of key right-handed relievers, coming to terms on one-year deals with Michael Kopech ($5.2 million) and Brusdar Graterol ($2.8 million).
- The Chicago White Sox signed first baseman Andrew Vaughn for $5.85 million. He batted .246 last season with 19 home runs, 70 RBIs and tied a career high with 30 doubles.
- Also agreeing were Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez ($8.8 million), Reds right-hander Brady Singer ($8.75 million), Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins ($8,725,000) and Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley ($8.2 million).
Seventeen players failed to reach agreement before numbers were exchanged Thursday, most notably star right fielder Kyle Tucker, who was acquired via trade by the Chicago Cubs heading into his final season before free agency.
Tucker filed for $17 million, and the Cubs countered at $15 million.
Outside of Tucker and the Cubs, the largest financial gap belonged to right-hander Michael King ($8.8 million) and the San Diego Padres ($7.325 million).
Another newly acquired player, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, failed to agree with the Washington Nationals. Lowe filed for $11.1 million and the Nats countered at $10.3 million.
Others who did not agree to terms with their teams included Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar, utility man Brendan Donovan and right-hander Andre Pallante; Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran; New York Yankees relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Dennis Santana; Baltimore Orioles utility man Jorge Mateo; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mickey Moniak, infielder Luis Rengifo and reliever Jose Quijada; Pittsburgh Pirates starter Johan Oviedo; Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia; and Tampa Bay Rays infielder Taylor Walls.
Hearings will be scheduled in front of three-person panels from Jan. 27 through Feb. 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Both sides can continue to negotiate leading up to their respective hearings, but most teams now treat the exchange date as a deadline, making exceptions only for multi-year deals.
Players went 9-6 in hearings last winter, leading teams with a 353-266 advantage since arbitration started in 1974. The 15 hearings were down from 19 last year, when the clubs won 13, but up from 13 in 2022, when teams won nine. Players had a winning record for the first time since going 6-4 in 2019.
There were 169 players eligible for arbitration after the November deadline for teams to tender 2025 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters, down from 238 at the start of the prior week.
All agreements for arbitration-eligible players are guaranteed but deals that went to panel decisions are not.
San Francisco third baseman J.D. Davis and Mets right-hander Phil Bickford were released after winning their cases last year.
Davis received $1,112,903 in termination pay rather than a $6.9 million salary and Bickford got $217,742 rather than the $900,000. Davis then signed a $2.5 million deal with the Athletics and Bickford got a deal with the Yankees that paid $1.1 million while in the major leagues and $180,000 while in the minors.
