Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (9) hits the ball in the bottom of the eighth inning during an MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, April 4, 2025, at Kauffman Stadium.
Emily Curiel
ecuriel@kcstar.com
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
Arbitration hearings place players and teams in closed-door disputes over salary figures.Vinnie Pasquantino faced a $500,000 gap with the Royals and publicly referenced hearings.Teams use arbitration outcomes to cap future pay, shaping contract strategy and payroll.
After the Brewers won their salary arbitration case with pitcher Corbin Burnes in 2023, he told reporters the process was “tough to hear, tough to take” because of what the team said about him.
Burnes’ salary was set at $10.01 million, $740,000 less than he was asking. But the lost money seemed easier to take than the comments made about Burnes, who won a Cy Young Award in 2021.
“When some of the things that are said — for instance, they basically put me in the forefront of the reason why we didn’t make the postseason last year,” said Burnes, who was coming off a season in which he had a 2.94 ERA. “That’s something that probably doesn’t need to be said.”
After the 2023 season, Burnes was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after making the All-Star Game for the third straight year.
What is said in arbitration hearings is unknown because they are held behind close doors every February. After the teams exchange salary figures, a hearing is held before a panel of arbitrators. They decide which salary figure to give a player based on what they’ve heard.
One such case this year involves Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. He’s asking for $32 million this season, while Detroit offered $19 million. That’s a hefty difference.
Not so, however, in the case involving Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. He asked for $4.5 million, while the Royals offered $4 million, according to MLB.com.
For most people, a half-million dollars is a lot of money. But the Royals had a $126 million payroll last year, so it seems like they could come up with $500,000 to avoid upsetting Pasquantino.
The Royals likely want the lower amount because Pasquantino is arbitration eligible for two more seasons. The less they pay now, the less they’ll pay in the future, too.
But a recent comment from Pasquantino shows he’s aware of what goes on in the arbitration hearing. And there is no reason to upset him over what amounts to less than 0.4% of the Royals’ payroll.
Earlier this month, Pasquantino wrote about the Royals moving in the fences at Kauffman Stadium in an X post and included a seemingly throwaway line about salary arbitration hearings.
“I’m very curious how this is going to play out in multiple ways,” he wrote. “And honestly mostly from a data perspective (this hits close to home because I’m about to go into a room and hear how awful I am).”
Pasquantino later deleted the post, likely because fans noted his expectation about the awful things the Royals could theoretically say about him. The Royals and Pasquantino can still agree on a contract and skip arbitration.
The 2025 season was Pasquantino’s best with the Royals. He had 32 home runs, 33 doubles, 113 RBIs, a 120 OPS+ and played in 160 games.
New Mets infielder Bo Bichette spoke out about arbitration a few years ago when he was with the Blue Jays.
“Arbitration is an incredibly flawed process, one that isn’t very good for the game,” Bichette told reporters in 2023, per Sportsnet. “There’s no reason to pit owners and executives against players. Just no reason.”
Another video, of former Reds star Sean Casey talking about his arbitration hearing, is both enlightening and hilarious.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
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