9:33 PM ET
Jeff PassanESPN
CloseESPN MLB insider
Writer of “The Arm: Contained in the Billion-Greenback Thriller of the Most Worthwhile Commodity in Sports activities”
Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease might win the American League Cy Younger award and Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen has thrown 41⅓ consecutive scoreless innings, however each path the chief within the Wins Above Substitute metric that can award cash for baseball’s new pre-arbitration bonus program: Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy.
A memo distributed to groups Thursday outlined the plan to counterpoint standout gamers within the early elements of their careers who nonetheless make across the main league minimal, which this season is $700,000. The memo, obtained by ESPN, additionally included the totals for the brand new model of WAR created by Main League Baseball and the MLB Gamers Affiliation to reward gamers.
The $50 million pool, agreed to within the new collective bargaining settlement and funded by the league, begins by distributing cash to gamers who place excessive in awards voting. Those that will not be but in arbitration, wherein gamers sometimes with three to 6 years of service negotiate their salaries, obtain $2.5 million for profitable the MVP or Cy Younger awards; $1.75 million for second place in both and $1.5 million for ending third; $1 million for fourth- or fifth-place finishes or first-team All-MLB honors; $750,000 for first place in Rookie of the 12 months voting; and $500,000 for second place in Rookie of the 12 months and second-team All-MLB.
As soon as these awards are handed out, the rest of the pool — which might have been $39.75 million final yr — is break up among the many 100 gamers within the group with the best WAR.
Tops within the group proper now’s Murphy, the 27-year-old catcher who’s hitting .252/.333/.442 this season. Whereas his offensive numbers pale in comparison with a few of his friends, Murphy positive factors important worth from his fielding numbers and the positional adjustment that rewards harder defensive positions, equivalent to catcher and shortstop.
The remainder of the highest 10 embrace: Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, Cleveland second baseman Andres Gimenez, Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan, Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez, St. Louis shortstop Tommy Edman, Stop, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin, Gallen and Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk.
Among the many high 25 are 9 beginning pitchers, seven catchers, 4 infielders, 4 outfielders and one DH. Lower than a month stays within the common season for gamers to enhance their standing.
To calculate how a lot in bonus cash every participant will obtain, the WARs of the highest 100 gamers will probably be added up and no matter share of the sum a person’s WAR constitutes, he’ll obtain that proportion of the leftover pool following the awards. For instance, there have been 276 WAR in final yr’s class. At 5.2 WAR, Murphy would obtain round 1.9% of the $39.75 million — simply shy of $750,000.
The WAR metric, based on the memo, “was designed to symbolize the contributions Gamers make on the sphere as comprehensively and precisely as attainable, whereas additionally attaining a excessive diploma of correlation with publicly out there WAR metrics.”
Hitters earn worth in 4 classes: batting (primarily based on their weighted on-base common), baserunning (stolen bases and advancing on batted balls), fielding (for place gamers, judged by Outs Above Common and for outfielders, throwing arms; amongst catchers, for framing pitches, throwing out runners and blocking balls within the grime) and positional adjustment.
Pitcher WAR is a mixture of the 2 most distinguished calculations: runs allowed per 9 innings (RA/9), utilized by Baseball-Reference, and Fielding Unbiased Pitching (FIP), most well-liked by FanGraphs. Relievers are given additional credit score for pitching in higher-leverage conditions.
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