New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is currently taking a towelling for comments he has made in the media about his desire to reduce the team’s payroll. What better time could there be, then, for five of his team’s players to receive a pay rise.
As a part of Major League Baseball’s arbitration process, first baseman Ben Rice, utility player Jose Caballero, starting pitcher Will Warren, breakout star Cam Schlittler and primary catcher Austin Wells have all received a pay rise, thanks to MLBâs Pre-Arbitration Performance Bonus Pool.
Rewards For Surpassing Expectations
The bonus pool itself is a fairly new mechanism in Major League Baseball.
Introduced in the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement, it was designed to address one of the sportâs longstanding issues: young players typically generate enormous value while earning very little, since full salary arbitration does not begin until a player accrues three years of service time. The pre-arb pool sets aside tens of millions of dollars each season, distributing that money to players with less than three service years who perform at a high level, with the distribution calculated through a combination of awards, league rankings, playing time and advanced performance metrics. It is MLB’s attempt at paying emerging players something closer to what they are actually worth.
Rice received a $375,943 bonus for a season in which he was thrust into an everyday role earlier than anyone expected. Platooning with Paul Goldschmidt, spelling Wells behind the plate and also playing plenty of designated hitter, his plate discipline, contact rate, and left-handed power all graded favorably in the leagueâs performance evaluation metrics. Rice ranked highly among rookie first basemen in on-base percentage and adjusted offensive value, giving him a clear boost into the bonus pool distribution.
Caballero ($269,841) arrived mid-season – indeed, mid-game – from the Tampa Bay Rays, and immediately added value as a utility player. The bonus formula rewards defense, baserunning and overall WAR contributions, and Caballeroâs versatility and prolific base-stealing totals allowed him to accumulate steady value across multiple positions. With above-average defensive metrics at second and third and passable play at short, plus efficient base-stealing and strong situational hitting, Caballero was exactly the type of under-the-radar contributor the system was built to reward.
Yankees Battery Get Good News
Warrenâs $223,911 raise speaks to the importance of innings. The pre-arb formula places real weight on starting pitchers who deliver workload at or above rookie expectations, and Warren provided stable rotation innings in a season where the Yankees – without Gerrit Cole for the whole season – desperately needed them. His strikeout-to-walk profile held up, his run prevention metrics sat around league average or better for a young starter, and his reliability alone vaulted him high enough in the rankings to secure bonus money.
The biggest surprise player among the five was of course Schlittler ($223,864), whose incredibly quick rise from prospect to trusted postseason starter gave the Yankees an essential late-season reinforcement. Pitchers earn bonus-pool money in part through their performance in high-pressure situations, run prevention and strikeout rates, and Schlittler checked all those boxes, particularly in win-probability metrics.
Finally, Wells ($392,768) received a bump as well, driven by both defensive progress and strong framing metrics. MLBâs bonus pool model incorporates advanced catching statistics – framing runs, blocking value, and throwing efficiency – alongside offensive production. Wellsâ improvement behind the plate, coupled with steady on-base skills, pushed him comfortably into the bonus tier. (Even if he is tipping pitches.)
All told, the five players will receive an extra $1.5 million, or slightly more than half a Yarbrough. This is not going to change the Yankees’ offseason spends plans, whatever they are. The amounts are not huge, in relative terms – however, coming as they do against the backdrop of Steinbrenner’s unsavoury complaints, they do stand in stark contrast to the current narrative around the time. And are also a little bit funny.
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