Reds sign five players for 2024, avoid arbitration
The cincinnati Reds will be avoiding arbitration hearings with outfielder Jake Fraley, catcher Tyler Stephenson, as well as relievers Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims by signing each to a 1-year deal. Earlier today they also avoided arbitration by signing reliever Alex Young for 2024.
The deadline to agree to terms for arbitration eligible players was this afternoon at 1pm ET. Cincinnati had six players that were still arbitration eligible entering the day, but got deals done with five of them. They did not get a deal done with infielder Jonathan India. He will still be a Red (unless traded), but he will go to arbitration with the club.
With the five deals they did get done, they locked in the salaries for them for the 2024 season and now have a more precise payroll number. Here’s what each of the five players who agreed to deals today will be getting for 2024 versus what MLB Trade Rumors projected them to get if they went to arbitration:
| 2024 Salary | Projection | |
| Lucas Sims | $2,850,000 | $2,800,000 |
| Tyler Stephenson | $2,525,000 | $2,900,000 |
| Jake Fraley | $2,150,000 | $2,200,000 |
| Alex Young | $1,160,000 | $1,700,000 |
| Tejay Antone | $830,000 | $900,000 |
| Totals | $9,515,000 | $10,500,000 |
When compared to the MLB Trade Rumors projected numbers for arbitration, the Reds front office came out ahead overall.
If we don’t count the buyouts that the club is paying players who are not on the team any longer, these new contracts put the payroll at $78,478,333. That does not include what Jonathan India will make, and accounts for 12 roster spots being paid the league minimum of $740,000. There’s a little wiggle room in there for how some salaries are being applied (for example, some places count Hunter Greene’s signing bonus for his 2024 salary, some do not), but it’s in the right ballpark.
As for Jonathan India – he’s projected to get $3,700,000 by MLB Trade Rumors. India is asking for $4,000,000 according to a report from The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans. The Reds countered at $3,200,000. For those unfamiliar with exactly how the arbitration system works, the player and the team each submit a number and then make an argument to an arbiter as to why they are worth that much based on performance. The arbiter then chooses which of those two numbers is more “right”. They must pick one of those numbers – they can not pick something different.
As of now we don’t know when the Reds and India will have their arbitration hearing. Major League Baseball’s schedule for arbitration hearings are between January 29th and February 16th
