MLB Predictions: Cody Bellinger And Mookie Betts To Break Arbitration Records

Friday, Jan. 10 is the day that arbitration-eligible players trade salary desires with their clubs in an effort to avoid a hearing which would determine their future salaries and both Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger are set to make history in this process.

The Boston Red Sox have expected their star outfielder to get a raise this winter for a long time. A year ago, the two parties agreed on a salary of $20 million for Betts and the player went on to post almost identical numbers in 2019 compared to 2018.

That means he is in line to receive at least a few more million in 2020 before he hits free agency. Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies currently owns the all-time record for the largest one-year salary earned through this process.

Arenado and the Rockies agreed to $26 million as a middle ground between the player’s $30 million and the club’s $24 million initial offers. The two parties did later agree to a long-term contract extension of eight years and $260 million.

Mookie Betts, meanwhile, is being projected to earn just north of $27 million according to both MLB Trade Rumors and Cot’s Baseball Contracts. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, it may benefit the Red Sox to agree to a similar deal as the Rockies did with Arenado last winter.

Arbitration hearings can get nasty so if Boston wants to lock up Betts long term, it may help to avoid that sometimes ugly process. Either way, expect Betts to receive a record-breaking salary before the start of next season.

Meanwhile, another player could also break a record during the next few weeks. Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers is a first-time arbitration-eligible player and is projected to break Kris Bryant’s record for the richest salary awarded to such a player.

Bryant’s record came in 2018 after he was awarded $10.85 million after earning both the NL Rookie of the Year and NL Most Valuable Player awards during his career. Bellinger has taken home both accolades as well, although won the latter just this past season, making his case even stronger.

Both Cot’s and MLBTR project the player to receive more than the $10.85 million record this off-season. However, just like Betts, he isn’t expected to break it by much. Cot’s has Bellinger down for $11 million while MLBTR has him at $11.6 million.