Which MLB Players Should Get the Biggest Arbitration Raises?
These are the players who stand to earn the highest raises through the arbitration process heading into 2027.
While the postseason has whittled down potential World Series contenders to three final teams, every other organization has refocused its attention on contract negotiations over the offseason. Some teams’ seasons have been over for quite some time, while a few are still fighting for their playoff lives, but eventually, arbitration negotiations arrive all the same.
A sizeable portion of players entering these negotiations will receive raises in 2027, and the players discussed in this article are those who stand to gain the most, compared to their 2026 salaries.
The arbitration figures contained in this article are courtesy of Just Baseball’s 2027 arbitration salary projections, a comprehensive team-by-team guide of every arbitration-eligible player in MLB this offseason.
CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
CJ Abrams was one of the top breakout hitters in baseball this season, becoming a true beacon of power alongside James Wood at the top of the Nationals’ lineup. In 2026, Abrams set career highs in batting average (.261), on-base percentage (.336), slugging percentage (.497), home runs (33), RBI (106), walks (57), fWAR (3.7), and wRC+ (124).
In every sense of the word, Abrams had a career season. The now-two-time All-Star has just over four years of MLB service time and earned $4.2M through arbitration last offseason. He will command much more money this time around.
Just Baseball has projected Abrams will receive $10.6M in arbitration, giving him the highest projected raise in MLB at a $6.4M increase. This one-year total would make him the 16th-highest-paid shortstop in terms of annual salary, representing a solid team-friendly option for a Nationals team that had one of the lowest team payrolls in MLB this past year.
Abrams has proven himself to be one of the best offensive infielders in the game and produced runs at an incredible rate in 2026. Even though he’s been in trade talks in recent years, the Nats would love to have him locked up at a decent price.
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Brice Turang led all hitters on the 103-win Milwaukee Brewers with a 5.9 fWAR and set career-highs in many different offensive areas. Turang slashed .268/.366/.450 with 21 home runs, 100 RBI, 37 doubles, and a 127 wRC+ and had one of the best seasons in recent memory from a primary second baseman.
He became just the fourth primary second baseman since 2020 to record a season of 100+ RBI with his performance this season and helped the Brewers set a franchise record in wins. The Brewers have just punched their ticket to the World Series for the second time in franchise history, and Turang is one of the stars highlighting their success.
Turang earned $4.15M in 2026 in his first year of arbitration and is predicted to earn $10.35M in his second year, which would make him the 10th-highest-paid second baseman in baseball next season. His last three seasons have shown that he’s a consistently elite all-around player, as he won both a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove in 2024 and received NL MVP votes in 2025.
He’s sure to receive votes once again this season and might take home another defensive award thanks to his 16 OAA, landing him in the 99th percentile of fielders. A $6.2M raise is quite hefty, but he deserves every penny of it, and he’s turned himself into one of the best infielders in the game.
Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels
Zach Neto has registered three consecutive 20/20 seasons and is one of just five primary shortstops since 2020 to achieve this feat. Notching career-highs in home runs (27), fWAR (3.9), hits (148), and nearly doubling his career-high in walks, Neto’s performance this season cemented him as one of the best young infielders in baseball.
He’s just the fourth infielder in Angels history to hit 80+ home runs across his first 500 career games, and he’s showing signs of being a future star.
Downsides to Neto’s game revolve around his strikeout rate being north of 30% and defensive struggles (-8 OAA), but his run production makes him very valuable to the Angels’ anemic team offense. His salary should slot in slightly lower than Abrams and Turang, not showing just yet in his career to have similar ceilings to them.
Neto is projected to earn $10.3M in 2027 after earning $4.15M in arbitration this past season, giving him a sizeable $6.15M raise. Despite Neto being involved in trade talks in recent years, the Angels have plenty of room and necessity to retain his services at a solid price.
While he hasn’t yet recorded a season where he’s broken out in a superstar way, make no mistake that Neto’s combination of youth, power, and speed makes him one of the most valuable infielders up for arbitration this year.
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Gunnar Henderson, although he had a subpar performance in 2026, still managed to record his third career 20+ home run season and a 3.6 fWAR. He’s one of the Orioles’ strongest hitters and has hit 106 home runs over the last four seasons, the third-most among players with at least 50% of their games played at shortstop in that time.
Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year in 2023, made an All-Star team (2024), won a Silver Slugger award (2023) and has placed top-10 in AL MVP voting twice in his just-over-four-year MLB career.
He’s predicted to receive a $6.1M raise from his 2026 salary to bring him to a figure of $14.6M in arbitration this offseason. While you might look at his performance from this season and think this is too steep a price, Henderson’s proven himself capable of being one of the best offensive infielders in baseball.
Slugging 37 home runs just two years ago and experiencing his first career struggles this past year, in combination with his first season of sub-.300 BABIP (.261), Henderson is sure to bounce back next season. He’s certainly worth this contract and more if Baltimore wants to lock him up for years to come.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners have one of the most reliable starters in baseball in Logan Gilbert, who is predicted to receive a raise in arbitration this offseason. Gilbert had another amazing season in 2026, matching his highest single-season ERA over the last five seasons at 3.73. This number says enough about his effectiveness, and when combined with his strong workload of 185+ innings for the fourth time in the last five years, his value is very high.
Gilbert is predicted to receive $15.302M in arbitration, representing a $4.375M increase from his salary this past season. This figure would put him outside of the top 15 starting pitchers in 2027 salary, but still rewards him for a strong performance this year. The Mariners didn’t live up to expectations in 2026, but that wasn’t Gilbert’s fault at all.
When considering his tenure in the big leagues and his elite results this year, as well as potential down-ballot AL Cy Young votes, Gilbert would be fairly paid for his services while not necessarily breaking the bank too much for the Mariners.
Since 2000, Félix Hernández is the only Mariners pitcher with more innings pitched and strikeouts than Gilbert, making him one of the most reliable arms in recent franchise history. He certainly deserves a sizeable raise going into next season considering his consistent placing among the AL’s best pitchers.
Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros
Isaac Paredes was one of the top contributors to the Astros’ push for a playoff spot this season and set new career-best marks in fWAR (4.4) and doubles (27) while dropping his strikeout rate by four percentage points from last year. He’s one of the most unique hitters in baseball, hitting all of his 117 career home runs to left field and boasting a pull rate of nearly 50%.
Paredes’ high pull rate plays very well in the Astros’ home stadium of Daikin Park, and he’s going to get a raise in arbitration this offseason. Just Baseball predicted he’ll receive a raise of $4.3M to bring his 2027 salary to $13.65M.
The Astros have a 2027 club option worth $13.35M for Paredes, and they should exercise it this offseason, as there may be potential for his arbitration number to come in even higher than predicted. Paredes has shown signs of being an elite hitter, especially when combining his raw power with his newfound control of strikeouts.
Following the 2027 season, Paredes will be an unrestricted free agent, so he could be one of the premier trade pieces at next year’s deadline if the Astros find themselves out of the hunt. If so, this raise to Paredes’ salary won’t be incredibly impactful to Houston, but he can be very valuable in many different ways next season.
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels
Reid Detmers had a true breakout campaign in 2026, notching a 3.36 ERA over a career-high 185 innings while striking out 211 batters. Detmers is just the third left-handed pitcher in Angels franchise history to strike out 200+ batters in a season, and he is the only such pitcher to do so in fewer than 200 innings of work.
He’s also the first Angels pitcher to throw 185+ innings in a season since 2009, making him a very prime candidate for a raise in arbitration. This past season, Detmers earned $2.625M and is predicted to jump all the way to a $6.7M salary in 2027. He will certainly command a sizeable raise due to his incredible performance in 2026, and he still has several more years of team control.
The Angels tried shopping Detmers around at the trade deadline, but if they’re somehow (miraculously) able to turn their fates around in the very near future, having Detmers on a contract like this could make him even more valuable.
Overall, Detmers is one of the most valuable young pitchers in the game, and especially so among southpaws. He’s going to receive a salary that strongly represents his recent success and surge into stardom in 2026.
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Ethan has been writing for Just Baseball since 2024 and is fascinated by how sabermetric statistics can assist our understanding of outcomes and probability in baseball.…