Fastball

Multiple New York Yankees Players Receive Hefty Bonuses in Pre-Arbitration Pool

In addition to helping the Yankees get to the World Series, Luis Gil, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells cashed in this week.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sept 22.
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sept 22. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
In this story:

Congratulations are in order for New York Yankees youngsters Luis Gil, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells, who cashed in this week as part of Major League Baseball's pre-arbitration bonus system.

Gil, who won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, takes home $1.1 million. Wells, a catcher, gets $801,000 and Volpe gets $419,000.

The Associated Press put out the full list of earners here, and MLBTradeRumors did a great job explaining how it all 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

Gil debuted in 2021, making six starts for the Yankees, but then health problems set in. He made just one appearance in 2022 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He also missed the entire 2023 season, meaning he had barely pitched in three years heading into this past season, still retaining his rookie status.

All he did for a comeback was go 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA. He struck out 171 batters in 151.2 innings, flashing an upper-90s fastball and darting changeup as he helped the Yankees advance to the World Series.

Lifetime, Gil is now 16-8 with a 3.55 ERA. Still just 26 years old, he's under contract through the 2028 season and should be a big part of what the Yankees do moving forward.

The 25-year-old Wells hit .229 this year with 13 homers, becoming the Yankees primary backstop by the end of the season and playing in 115 games. Volpe, 23, hit .243 with 12 homers. He won the Gold Glove Award at shortstop in 2023.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
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. 

Home/News