Royals avoid arbitration with Singer, 3 others

January 11th, 2024

There will be no arbitration hearings for the Royals this year.

Kansas City agreed to one-year deals with , , and -- its four remaining arbitration-eligible players -- on Thursday, sources told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. According to those sources, the four players will make the following figures:

Singer (second year arb-eligible): $4.85 million
Wright (first year): $1.8 million
Anderson (second year): $1.575 million
Hernández (first year): $1.0125 million

The club has not yet confirmed the deals.

Singer is technically reaching his first year of arbitration this offseason because of the service time he racked up in 2021 and ‘22. He qualified to be a Super Two player prior to the '23 season, which meant he could begin the arbitration process a year early. Unlike most players who only have three years of arbitration before they reach free agency, Singer will have four.

In his first year of arbitration last winter, Singer and the Royals went to an arbitration hearing after they were unable to agree to terms. Singer had reportedly sought $3.325 million, while the Royals offered $2.95 million. The arbitration hearing ruled in favor of the Royals.

Kansas City had gone to hearings the past two years. Prior to Singer, it was Nicky Lopez (who lost his case and made $2.55 million) and Andrew Benintendi (who won his and made $8.5 million).

This time around, there will be no extra stress, as the club settled with all of its arb-eligible players. Josh Taylor avoided arbitration in November by signing a one-year, $1.1 million deal and Kris Bubic did the same in December for $2.35 million.