3 takeaways from arbitration deadline

Eighteen players were unable to come to terms with their teams on a salary for 2026 prior to Thursday night’s deadline, and while all of them exchanged arbitration figures with their clubs, one stood out above the rest.

Tarik Skubal, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner, filed for $32 million, while the Tigers countered with a figure of $19 million.

Assuming the two sides can’t come to terms prior to a hearing, a win for Skubal would establish a new record for the largest salary in arbitration, eclipsing Juan Soto’s $31 million salary with the Yankees in 2024. It would demolish the current mark for a pitcher’s salary in arbitration, set in 2015 by David Price at $19.75 million, while also becoming the biggest salary awarded in a case that went to a hearing, a mark currently held by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($19.9 million in 2024).

Here’s the thing to remember about an arbitration hearing: Neither $32 million nor $19 million will be the numbers that matter when the two sides present to the arbitration panel; the important number will be $25.5 million, which is the midpoint in the case.

Each side will try to prove that Skubal is worth one dollar more or less than the midpoint, and whichever side makes the better case will win. They don’t have to argue that Skubal is worth $19 million or $32 million, which is what makes an arbitration case like this so fascinating.

Not that there have been many like this before. The $13 million gap between the two sides represents the largest in arbitration history.

The 18 players exchanging salary figures were one more than last year, but still five fewer than did so in 2024. In 2023, a record 33 players swapped salary figures with clubs.

While Skubal was the headliner on Thursday’s arbitration day, there were some other notable happenings, too.

Here are some takeaways from this year’s arbitration deadline:

The Top 10

Two years ago, Juan Soto established a new record for the largest one-year contract for an arbitration-eligible player, agreeing to a $31 million deal with the Yankees. That deal came one year after Shohei Ohtani had previously set the mark at $30 million.

That record is safe … for now, anyway.

As we mentioned earlier, should Skubal go to a hearing and win, he would take his place atop this list. If the Tigers win the case, Skubal’s $19 million salary would leave him outside of the top 10.

Last year, Guerrero entered the Top 10 with his $28.5 million settlement with the Blue Jays. No player cracked the Top 10 list on Thursday, with Randy Arozarena’s $15.65 million deal with the Mariners representing the largest settlement. Of the 18 players who exchanged figures with clubs, only Skubal filed for an eight-figure salary.

Here’s a look at the 10 biggest one-year contracts ever given to arbitration-eligible players:

Juan Soto, $31M (2024)
Shohei Ohtani, $30M (2023)
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. $28.5M (2025)
Mookie Betts, $27M (2020)
Nolan Arenado, $26M (2019)
Josh Donaldson, $23M (2018)
Juan Soto, $23M (2023)
Bryce Harper, $21.625M (2018)
Francisco Lindor, $21.3 (2021)
Pete Alonso, $20.5M (2024)

Eight-figure club

Of the 150 or so players who agreed to deals on Thursday to avoid arbitration, only eight secured salaries of $10 million or more for 2026:

Randy Arozarena, Mariners ($15.65 million)
Brady Singer, Royals ($12.75 million)
Taylor Ward, Orioles ($12.175 million)
Jesús Luzardo, Phillies ($11 million)
Logan Gilbert, Mariners ($10.927 million)
Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays ($10.75 million)
Alec Bohm, Phillies ($10.2 million)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees ($10.2 million)

Exchange rate

Sixteen teams were able to come to terms with all of their arbitration-eligible players by Thursday, leaving 14 clubs with at least one player potentially headed for a hearing.

Of those 14 clubs that exchanged numbers with at least one player, the Astros, Orioles, Reds and Royals each did so with a pair of players. The other 10 teams -- the Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Nationals, Rays, Tigers and Twins -- exchanged figures with one player apiece.

Other than Skubal’s historic filing figure, none of the other 17 players filed for a salary of $10 million or more. The top figures after Skubal belong to Isaac Paredes ($9.95 million) and William Contreras ($9.9 million), while only four others are asking for salaries above $5 million.

Here’s a complete list of the 18 players who exchanged figures with their clubs, broken down by team. Both the player’s and the team’s filed salaries are in parenthesis:

Reid Detmers ($2.925 million), Angels ($2.625 million)
Yainer Diaz ($4.5 million), Astros ($3 million)
Isaac Paredes ($9.95 million), Astros ($8.75 million)
Eric Lauer ($5.75 million), Blue Jays ($4.4 million)
Dylan Lee ($2.2 million), Braves ($2 million)
William Contreras ($9.9 million), Brewers ($8.55 million)
Bryce Miller ($2.625 million), Mariners ($2.25 million)
Calvin Faucher ($2.05 million), Marlins ($1.8 million)
Cade Cavalli ($900,000), Nationals ($825,000)
Kyle Bradish ($3.55 million), Orioles ($2.875 million)
Keegan Akin ($3.375 million), Orioles ($2.975 million)
Edwin Uceta ($1.525 million), Rays ($1.2 million)
Graham Ashcraft ($1.75 million), Reds ($1.25 million)
Tyler Stephenson ($6.8 million), Reds ($6.55 million)
Vinnie Pasquantino ($4.5 million), Royals ($4 million)
Kris Bubic ($6.15 million), Royals ($5.15 million)
Tarik Skubal ($32 million), Tigers ($19 million)
Joe Ryan ($6.35 million), Twins ($5.85 million)