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Kansas City Royals Star Bobby Witt Jr. Just Earned a $3 Million Bonus, Here's Why

Witt Jr., who finished second in the American League MVP voting this year, cleaned up as part of the pre-arbitration bonus system.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) gets the force out on New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) at second base and throws to first during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 10, 2024.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) gets the force out on New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) at second base and throws to first during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 10, 2024. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. just earned $3 million in bonus money through the MLB's pre-arbitration bonus system.

The exact amount was $3,077,595, as per the Associated Press.

MLBTradeRumors did a good job of explaining how the system works.

The most recent collective bargaining agreement introduced a $50MM pool that is divided among players who have yet to accrue enough service time to reach arbitration. (Each team commits around $1.67MM to that fund every season.) The goal was to help highly-performing young players get paid earlier in their careers. Players are eligible even if they’ve signed a contract extension, as Witt did before the season

One of the best players in baseball, Witt Jr. hit .332 to win the American League batting title. He had 32 homers, 109 RBI and 45 doubles, leading the majors in hits with 211. Witt Jr. added 31 stolen bases and capped off a banner year with a Gold Glove win and a Silver Slugger win. He finished second in American League MVP voting behind only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

The Royals were one of the best stories in baseball this year, finishing second in the American League Central and advancing to the American League Division Series, where they were beaten by the Yankees.

In addition to Witt Jr., Royals ace Cole Ragans earned $1.6 million

So far this offseason the Royals have re-signed veteran Michael Wacha and acquired infielder Jonathan India in a trade. They are hoping, with Witt Jr.'s elite presence, that they will be able to build upon this great year in 2025.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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