Yankees: Arbitration-eligible players all agree to 2020 salary deals

New York Yankees, James Paxton
Feb 25, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton (65) walk back to the dugout at the end of the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees had until noon yesterday to offer salary deals with arbitration-eligible players. The Yankees announced that all nine arbitration-eligible players agreed to new contracts.

To fully understand the arbitration process, it’s fully explained on MLBTraderumors.com.  The possible deal that was drawing the most interest is how big a raise right field star, slugger Aaron Judge would get. He hit 52 home runs in his debut year, and 27 in each of the last two injury-shortened seasons was expected to get the most significant raise.

Arbitration dollars are usually figured based on the player’s performance in the previous season. However, for those players who are becoming eligible for the first time, their entire career may come into play when determining the final amount.  He earned $3,051 million, according to the projection model Judge would have been offered $6.4 million.  Many thought he would be offered something in the $10 million area.  As reported yesterday afternoon by EmpireSportsMedia.com’s own Nathan Solomon,  he agreed to a deal worth $8.5 million for the 2020 season.

Gary Sanchez, who was once expected to garner a similar deal as Aaron Judge, agreed to a 2020 deal worth $5 million.  His injuries and past performance had ruined his chances of pulling in the big dollars as he first became arbitration-eligible.

Last year earned $669.8k. He was expected to get something in the $5-6 million area, and the offer he got was right on target. Pitcher James Paxton who earned $8.575 million last year, was awarded $12.5 million for the upcoming season.  Paxton’s late-season performance was justly rewarded. Last year when Miguel Andujar when on the IL to have shoulder surgery, Gio Urshela was called up from Scranton Wilkes/Barre to fill in at third base for the injured Andujar.  He not only filled in but did a stellar job at the hot corner.  His Gold Glove-like defense and hitting ability brought him a new salary this year four times what he earned last year when he earned the league minimum of $555K. His new salary is $2,475 million.

The New York Yankees were monetarily ready for arbitration:

Other players avoided arbitration in a year that the Yankee front office and ownership have been considerably more free with the dollars, and have rewarded players with sweet deals.  That and the acquisition of big money Gerrit Cole demonstrates a change in spending habits from previous years.  The other players receiving raises are reliever Tommy Kahnle who will make $3 million, up from $1.87 million last season.  Jordan Montgomery will earn $1.2MM, Chad Green will get 1.4MM, Louis Cessa increases to 1.1MM, and Jonathan Holder, who was expected to get as much as $2MM,  due to his injury-plagued season, his salary remained stagnant at $800k.