A total of 101 players earned bonuses for the 2025 season in the fourth year of the $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes led all players with a record $3.4 million, while the Milwaukee Brewers set a team record with 10 players.
The Detroit Tigers tied for second with six players earning bonus money.
Those six players: catcher Dillon Dingler ($549,351), outfielder Riley Greene ($378,111), first baseman Spencer Torkelson ($318,620), infielder Colt Keith ($224,454), right-hander Reese Olson ($224,416) and outfielder Wenceel Pérez ($219,286).
The $50 million bonus pool is for pre-arbitration players – those without enough MLB service time to be eligible for salary arbitration going into the 2025 season, with the cutoff set at two years and 132 days.
The Associated Press on Tuesday, Nov. 25, released the full 101-player list, topped by Skenes ($3.436 million), Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez ($2.678 million), Houston Astros right-hander and Detroit native Hunter Brown ($2.026 million) and Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo ($1.540 million).
Ten players cashed in at least $1 million.
Dingler – the Tigers’ leader – was one of 27 players who earned more than $500,000 from the bonus pool.
The 27-year-old secured more than $1.3 million in the 2025 calendar year: $762,600 as a base salary and $549,351 from the bonus pool. He isn’t eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2027 season, so he has two more rounds of the bonus pool.
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Here’s how the $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool works:
After the awards, the remaining money in the bonus pool is allocated to the top 100 players using a WAR formula developed by MLB and the MLB Players Association.
The pre-arbitration bonus pool was agreed to by MLB and the MLBPA as part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement – which expires Dec. 1, 2026 – in an effort to reward younger players who can’t negotiate their salaries, aside from contract extensions.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 6 players from Tigers earn bonuses from 2025 pre-arbitration pool
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
