Arbitration-Eligible New York Yankees Set to Break Bank

Driven by the projected cost of Gleyber Torres, the New York Yankees could be looking at a hefty arbitration price tag this offseason.

The New York Yankees have a lot of needs going into this offseason, not the least of which is to navigate an incredible amount of arbitration-eligible players.

MLB Trade Rumors published its annual projections of what each Yankees player that is eligible for arbitration could receive. The Yankees have 17 arbitration-eligible players in all, with Gleyber Torres foremost among them.

Players who have three or more years of Major League service but less than six years of Major League service are eligible.

If the Yankees and their arbitration-eligible players cannot agree on a deal by Jan. 12, then they must exchange figures and go to arbitration. In most cases, teams will come to an agreement on a one-year salary, or an extension, before the deadline.

These projections are based on an algorithm to project arbitration salaries that looks at the player’s playing time, position, role, and performance statistics while accounting for inflation.

Here are the Yankees that are eligible for arbitration, along with MLB Trade Rumors’ projected figures:

Lou Trivino: $4.1MM

Gleyber Torres: $15.3MM

Clay Holmes: $6MM

Jonathan Loaisiga: $2.5MM

Kyle Higashioka: $2.3MM

Franchy Cordero: $1.6MM

Domingo German: $4.4MM

Nestor Cortes: $3.9MM

Jose Trevino: $2.7MM

Matt Bowman: $1MM

Michael King: $2.6MM

Ryan Weber: $900K

Billy McKinney: $1.2MM

Jake Bauers: $1.7MM

Jimmy Cordero: $900K

Clarke Schmidt: $2.6MM

Albert Abreu: $900K

Torres is the big-ticket item for the Yankees as he can be a free agent after the 2024 season. He and the Yankees agreed to a one-year, $9.95 million deal last January as they avoided arbitration. Can the Yankees and Torres do it again this offseason?

He can fetch a high price because he’s coming off another quality season, in which he slashed .273/.347/.453/.800 with 25 home runs and 68 RBI. It’s the fourth time in six seasons in which he’s hit at least 20 home runs.

If the projections prove accurate, the Yankees could end up spending more than $50 million in arbitration. Per Spotrac.com the Yankees’ payroll for 2024 is already $189 million for seven players under contract.