NEW YORK — Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. and Toronto Blue Jays avoided a salary arbitration hearing when the first baseman agreed Thursday to a one-year, $28.5 million contract on the day players and teams were scheduled to exchange proposed amounts.
Houston Astro left-handed Framber Valdez also agreed to a one-year contract worth $18 million.
Guerrero and Valdez can become free agents after the World Series.
Guerrero, the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, earned a record salary of $19.9 million last year in an arbitration decision when the panel chose his number over the Blue Jays’ offer of $18.05 million.
Juan Soto set a record for an arbitration-eligible player when he agreed to a $31 million deal with the club last year New York Yankeessprinkles Shohei OhtaniContract worth $30 million for 2023 with Los Angeles Angels. Soto became a free agent in November and signed a record 15-year contract worth $765 million New York Mets.
Guerrero wasn’t the only player who agreed with the Blue Jays as an outfielder Daulton Varsho $8.2 million) and catcher Alejandro Kirka ($4.6 million) also entered into one-year contracts.
As of the start of the day, 155 players were eligible for arbitration and most were expected to agree to the deal.
Among them:
For players who fail to reach an agreement, from January 27 to February 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida, hearings will be held before three-person panels.
Players went 9-6 in auditions last winter, leading teams by a 353-266 margin since arbitration began in 1974. The 15 auditions are down from 19 last year, when clubs won 13, but up from 13 in 2022, when teams won nine. The players posted a winning record for the first time since going 6-4 in 2019.
A total of 169 players were arbitration-eligible after the November deadline for teams to tender 2025 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters, up from 238 at the start of last week.
All contracts for arbitration-eligible players are guaranteed, but contracts that have been subject to a panel decision are not.
Third baseman from San Francisco JD Davis and Mets right-hander Phil Bickford They were released after winning their cases last year.
Davis received $1,112,903. instead of a $6.9 million salary, and Bickford got $217,742 instead of $900,000. Davis then signed a $2.5 million contract with Oakland, and Bickford signed a contract with the Yankees that paid $1.1 million in the major leagues and $180,000 in the minors.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
