Royals come to terms with all remaining arbitration-eligible players

The Royals will not have any arbitration hearings

The Royals came to terms with all of their remaining arbitration-eligible players, reaching agreement with Kris Bubic, Hunter Harvey, Carlos Hernández, Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez, and John Schrieber, according to Anne Rogers. Thursday was the deadline for players to come to terms with arbitration-eligible players before exchanging figures for hearings. The Royals had previously come to terms with Kyle Wright on a $1.8 million deal. MLB Trade Rumors had indicated that Daniel Lynch IV might be eligible for arbitration, but Rogers clarified he is not yet eligible.

*-numbers from Cot’s Contracts and projections from MLB Trade Rumors.

The Royals will avoid any arbitration hearings for the second consecutive year. In 2023, they defeated pitcher Brady Singer in arbitration.

Players that are not yet eligible for free agency can become eligible for arbitration after three seasons in the big leagues (and sometimes after just two). Had the Royals not settled, each side would have filed a number to an arbitrator. For those cases that go to a hearing, the arbitrator picks a side to win, and cannot split the difference. Salaries depend largely on service time, with Arbitration 1 players (players in their first year of the process) generally receiving 30 percent of market value, Arbitration 2 players receiving 50 percent of market value, and Arbitration 3 players receiving 70 percent of market value. Players cannot receive more than a 20 percent pay cut.

Contracts for arbitration-eligible players used to be non-guaranteed, meaning they could still be cut in spring training without teams obligated to pay the entire salary, but now those contracts are fully guaranteed.

The Royals’ 2025 payroll is currently projected to be around $110 million, down slightly from last year’s $115 million Opening Day payroll.