The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.
These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.
Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.
All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day/evening as deals are announced and/or reported.
- The Cubs and right-hander Julian Merryweather have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $1.225MM, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). That’s just shy of his $1.3MM projection. Merryweather had a 6.60 ERA in 2024 but was injured most of the time and only made 15 appearances. He had a solid 3.38 ERA the year prior in 72 innings.
- The Blue Jays got a deal done with right-hander Erik Swanson, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet on X, though the salary terms haven’t been publicly reported. The righty was projected for $3.2MM next year. He had a 5.03 ERA in 2024 but was at 2.97 the year prior and also finished this year strong, with a 2.55 ERA in the second half.
- The Yankees reached agreement with center fielder Trent Grisham on a $5MM salary, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN (on X). The deal contains another $250K in incentives. The two-time Gold Glove winner had been projected at $5.7MM. Grisham had an underwhelming .190/.290/.385 showing during his first season in the Bronx. The Yankees will nevertheless keep him around for his final year of arbitration, presumably in a fourth outfield capacity.
- The Rockies reached deals with outfielder Sam Hilliard and lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath, Feinsand reports (on X). Hilliard gets $1MM, while Gilbreath signed for $785K. Both figures come in shy of the respective $1.7MM and $900K projections. Hilliard popped 10 home runs over 58 games as a depth outfielder. Gilbreath only made three appearances after missing the entire ’23 season to Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.19 ERA across 43 innings two years ago.
Earlier Agreements
- The Dodgers and right-hander Tony Gonsolin have agreed to a $5.4MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link), an exact match for his projection. He had signed a two-year, $6.65MM deal to cover the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He made 20 starts for the Dodgers in the first year of that pact but he missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Guardians and Sam Hentges have agreed to a $1.337MM deal, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. That’s right in line with his projected $1.4MM salary. The left-hander has been an effective reliever for Cleveland over the past three seasons (2.93 ERA, 2.82 SIERA, 138 IP), but he missed the latter half of 2024 with a shoulder injury. After undergoing surgery in September, he will miss the entire 2025 season.
- The Orioles and infielder Emmanuel Rivera agreed to a $1MM deal, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’d been projected at $1.4MM. He hit .238/.312/.343 this year.
- Right-hander Brock Stewart and the Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth $870K, MLBTR has learned. He’d been projected at $800K. Stewart, who missed much of the season due to injury, can earn another $30K via incentives. He’s been lights-out for the Twins when healthy over the past two seasons (2.28 ERA, 33.5 K%, 10.8 BB%). Minnesota and righty Michael Tonkin also agreed to a $1MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’d been projected at $1.5MM. The Twins later announced that they had reached deals with Stewart, Tonkin and righty Justin Topa, though Topa’s salary has not yet been publicly reported. He’s projected for $1.3MM next year.
- The Padres and Tyler Wade agreed to a one-year deal worth $900K, Heyman tweets. There’s a club option for an additional season. Wade, who hit .217/.285/.239 in 2024, was projected for that same $900K figure.
- Infielder Santiago Espinal and the Reds settled on a one-year deal at $2.4MM, Heyman tweets. That’s well shy of his $4MM projection and actually represents a slight pay cut after Espinal hit .246/.295/.356 for Cincinnati.
- The Rangers and righty Dane Dunning agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.66MM, Heyman reports. It’s a 19% cut after Dunning struggled to a 5.31 ERA in 95 innings this past season. He was projected at $4.4MM.
- The Giants and right-hander Austin Warren agreed to terms on a one-year deal, reports Justice de los Santos of the San Jose Mercury News. He missed most of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned late with 10 2/3 innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve signed catcher/outfielder Eric Haase to a one-year deal for the upcoming season. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that the deal guarantees Haase $1.35MM with the chance to earn more via incentives. He’d been projected for a $1.8MM salary. Haase will fill the backup catcher role in Milwaukee next season. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.
- The Dodgers and right-hander Dustin May settled at $2.135MM, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X link). That’s the exact same salary he had in 2024. May will be looking to bounce back after spending all of this year on the injured list.
- The Phillies and right-hander José Ruiz settled at $1.225MM, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). That’s slightly above his $1.2MM projection. The righty can also unlock a $20K bonus for pitching in 30 games and $25K for pitching in 40. He made 52 appearances for the Phils in 2024 with a 3.71 ERA. Philadelphia also announced agreement with backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on a one-year deal. The Phils did not reveal the salary figure. Stubbs hit .207 in 54 games this year.
- The Tigers and infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry agreed to a $1.65MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X). That’s slightly ahead of his $1.3MM projection. He hit .215/.277/.337 this year while stealing 16 bases and playing each position except or first base and catcher,
Hmm
The risk for these guys for agreeing is that they can suffer the JD Davis fate and get cut in Spring Training for a fraction of their salary. But in many cases, that amount is still the same or more than they might make in AAA for an entire season if they accept a minor league deal somewhere else.
Actually, players accepting deals without going to arbitration are guaranteed a full year’s salary even if cut in Spring Training. Players whose salaries are decided by an arbitration panel are not.
What happened to JD Davis last year is that he went to arbitration (and won). Because he went to arbitration, under the MLB CBA, he received only a 30 day termination pay when cut in Spring Training..
By accepting these pre-arb offers, these players are actually avoiding JD Davis’ plight by guaranteeing a full-year’s pay, even if they are cut during Spring Training.
Good info Quaesitor.
That rule needs to change. What happened to Davis should not have been allowed.
And I think the Davis situation is an exception, not the rule. Most front offices are not going to later renege on a deal which they voluntarily offered to a player due to the hit to their reputation.
To add on to what I said the point of arbitration is fairness. It’s purpose is to allow the player to get a fair wage as decided by an impartial arbiter as opposed to just taking whatever the team offers. So to penalize a player for taking the team to arbitration and then winning is simply not fair at all.
Oops, thank you Quaesitor, I had it backwards. That makes a lot more sense.
By accepting these pre-arb offers, these players are guaranteeing they aren’t nontendered.
Pretty sure they are
So Dustin May wasn’t a non-tender candidate after all?
Despite what it sounded like in a post I made previously, I think we could all agree there was very little chance he was going to be non-tendered. I had forgotten his injury was in his esophagus, so that made it even more certain he’d get tendered a contract.
I questioned his appeared on the possible non-tender list a few weeks ago. Figured the odds of the Dodgers not taking a $2M chance on him was zero to nil.
Stay focused
It’s time for May to perform, and the Dodgers are giving him that opportunity. If he’s out a significant portion of 2025 for whatever reason, then I have to think it will be his last in LA.
The vast majority of players who sign deals the day of the nontender deadline were by definition nontender candidates….had they not agreed to the offer they would have likely become free agents that day. As most of these deals are below their arb projection.
McKinstry what a little weasel who can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag !
@Coop – as opposed to being the equivalent of a wet paper back that can’t pull out of a weasel.
Come on man!, be nice. He has more service time than any/all of us
*bag, not back… although that may apply as well
Yep. I always say, it takes a really good baseball player to be a bad major leaguer.
Some bench players are valued for their bat, some for their defense, some for their pinch running ability. The player that is valued for all of those things is NOT a bench player. McKinstry plays everywhere, and can pinch run. He’s not likely to start, and he’s not getting paid like a starter. And, he doesn’t complain about his role.
Actually, I’d say McKinstry is a competent and valuable utility player. He put up .8 WAR in 297 AB’s and played positive dWAR across all positions collectively. He has also come up with some very clutch hits that directly helped the Tigers make the playoffs. Every team in the league wants a guy like this on their roster for his role.
dustin may is gonna be a FA after next yr
he has thrown a total of 191 major lg innings in his dodger career
I was a little bit startled when I saw the picture accompanying this story was grandall. I thought the Pirates decided to keep him. They can do much better than that.
That’s not Grandal, although he and Eric Haase do look alike.
I was hoping the Tigers would non-tender McKinstry.
Glad the Reds are keeping, for now, Espinal. At times last year he was their best hitter and defender, which should tell you how bad the Reds offense was last season. Ex-Cleveland player so Tito probably feels he can help the team this year.
He was never with Cleveland?
I stand corrected. Got him mixed up with Benson. Espinal came from the Blue Jays.
Espinal is a valuable depth piece for Cincy as he can play anywhere and hits better than a typical utility man. I feel better about a potential India trade having him in the fold.
He’s not very good and that should be proven by the fact that he actually accepted a pay cut, something you rarely ever see in the arbitration process.
Dane Dunning is worth another year, he has pitched some good innings for the Rangers over he past three seasons.
He was overlooked as a key contributor to the WS team during the season.
Dunning seems to give you 3 or 4 really good innings, then things go awry quickly.
Dustin May had esophagus surgery? WTH?!?!!
Never did get the backstory on that. Guessing whatever the circumstances were did not represent his finest hour.
I’m actually really happy that the O’s brought Emmanuel Rivera back.
He came out of absolutely nowhere as an emergency stopgap guy for us after we lost a bunch of guys to injuries late last year and kiiiiind of looked like a DUDE in his cup of coffee with the Orioles, so I am pretty interested to see if he picks up where he left off (in Norfolk).
Probably not, but ya never know…
He probably takes over Urias’ role, whenever they move on from him.
I’m very surprised they decided to non tender Webb. This after cutting ties with Coulombe. Both valuable pieces to the pen that will need to be replaced. It also reeks of continued cheapness as Danny was slated to make about $4MM and Webb only about $1.7MM.
Very odd…
I understand that McKinstry is a good defender at multiple positions but I was truly hoping DET would not only upgrade their starting 9 but the bench as well. He went through stretches last season where he flat out was an automatic out and hurt the end of this lineup. Praying that Illitch opens up the purse strings this winter!
Huge overpay for Grisham. He’s a player whose vices outweigh his virtues in my opinion. Yanks could easily do better for $5M.