Six Nationals players face salary arbitration deadline (four sign)

It’s arbitration deadline day across Major League Baseball, the day when hundreds of players either agree with their clubs on 2025 salaries or file for arbitration.

The decisions made today don’t change the contractual status of any player. All are already under club control and don’t have the ability to leave. Teams can’t decide now to release them, having already announced plans to tender them contracts in November. The only thing determined today (or later, if cases go to arbitration) is the players’ salary figures for the upcoming season.

And yet, the way this day proceeds often tells us a lot about the relationship between players and teams, and whether the two sides value each other in a comparable way or not.

Who’s impacted by this deadline? It’s anyone with at least three years but fewer than six years of big league service time, plus the top 22 percent of players with at least two years of service time (the so-called “Super-2” players).

The Nationals entered the offseason with nine arbitration-eligible players: Kyle Finnegan, Luis Garcia Jr., Josiah Gray, Derek Law, MacKenzie Gore, Riley Adams, Ildemaro Vargas, Tanner Rainey and Mason Thompson. Finnegan and Rainey, however, were non-tendered, and Vargas was cut loose as well, bringing the number down to six.

Then Thompson, who missed all of 2024 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, agreed early to a $770,000 salary for 2025, taking him out of the mix. The Nats would later acquire Nathaniel Lowe, who still has two years of arbitration eligibility, from the Rangers. So that brought the final tally of unsigned players heading into today back to six.

Players and teams face a 1 p.m. Eastern deadline to agree to terms on their own. If they don’t, they must formally submit dueling arbitration figures by 8 p.m. But an important reminder: They can still agree to a salary at any point before going to hearings, which don’t take place until February. So even if somebody doesn’t work out a deal today, there’s still a good chance of an agreement before ever going to arbitration.

Of the six players in the mix today, Lowe stands to command the largest paycheck. The 29-year-old first baseman qualified for Super-2 status in 2023, making $4.05 million that season. Then he got a raise up to $7.5 million in 2024. Now entering his third of four arbitration years, he’s projected to make $10.7 million by MLB Trade Rumors, which would make him the highest paid player on the Nationals at the moment.

None of the five others will come close to Lowe’s salary, four of them still having fewer than four years of service time. Law is the most experienced of the group, with 5 years, 81 days in the majors. The workhorse reliever made a modest $1.5 million base salary last season after signing a minor league deal with the Nats. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to double that number to $3 million.

Garcia stands to earn the biggest raise of the group after his breakthrough 2024 season. The young second baseman, who qualified for Super-2 status last winter, made $1.95 million and is now projected to make $4.8 million.

Gore also figures to be rewarded with a healthy raise in his first crack at arbitration. With exactly three years of service time now, the left-hander made only $749,000 last season. He’s projected to see that number jump to $3.5 million.

Gray presents an interesting case, because the right-hander made only two starts last season and ultimately required Tommy John surgery. It’s the first time he’s arbitration-eligible, and he made only $757,400 in 2024. But he has an All-Star selection on his resume, and his 2023 performance will be considered as he watches his 2025 salary approach a projected $1.4 million.

Then there’s Adams, who after a frustrating 2024 season that included two demotions to Triple-A Rochester appeared to be in danger of being cut loose earlier this winter. The Nationals, though, chose to tender a contract to their backup catcher, signaling their intention to bring him back for another season. Adams, who made $750,900 last season, is eligible for arbitration for the first time and is projected to receive a 2025 salary of $1.1 million.

Check back throughout the day for updates on all six players’ cases as the news comes in …

UPDATE: We have our first signing of the day, with Adams and the Nationals settling at $850,000 to avoid arbitration, per FanSided. It's a very small raise for the catcher, but given his struggles and demotion last season, it's understandable.

UPDATE II: The Nats have announced three more signings this afternoon, with Gore, Law and Gray all agreeing to terms on one-year deals. Law will earn $2.75 million, with Gray earning $1.35 million, according to the Washington Post. Gore's salary hasn't been reported yet.