Paul Skenes, Crow-Armstrong, De La Cruz, Full 2025 MLB Bonus Pool Projections Revealed

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is currently set to get the largest amount of any player from the 2025 MLB's pre-arbitration bonus pool, according to projections published Friday by the Associated Press.

Crow-Armstrong is the only player currently set to receive a bonus of more than $1 million, according to the AP. Here's a breakdown of the current top 10 players on the projected allocation list.

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2025 Major League Baseball Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Projections

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs ($1.09 million)

2. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates ($961,256)

3. James Wood, Washington Nationals ($863,835)

4. Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks ($798,397)

5. Hunter Brown, Houston Astros ($786,838)

6. Cristopher Sánchez, Philadelphia Phillies ($764,854)

7. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds ($717,479)

8. Carlos Narváez, Boston Red Sox ($703,007)

9. Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox ($685,366)

10. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers ($665,470)

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The first bonuses were distributed from this program in December 2022.

The pool splits a $50 million pool between the top 100 pre-arbitration players. Allocations are determined according to award nominations and All-MLB honors as well as MLB's WAR calculations.

Hitters' WAR is based on categories of batting, baserunning, fielding and positional adjustment, while pitcher WAR is determined through a combination of Baseball Reference's runs allowed per nine innings and FanGraphs' Fielding Independent Pitching, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The Associated Press also detailed how award nominations impact the bonus pool allocations. Players eligible for multiple award bonuses will receive only the most lucrative available bonus, according to the AP.

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Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Award Breakdown (via the Associated Press)

- MVP or Cy Young Award: $2.5 million for first place, $1.75 million for second place, $1.5 million for third place, $1 million for fourth or fifth place

- All-MLB: $1 million for First Team, $500,000 for Second Team

- Rookie of the Year: $750,000 for first place, $500,000 for second place, $350,000 for third place, $250,000 for fourth place, $150,000 for fifth place

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Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. topped last season's bonus pool with a payout of more than $3 million after finishing second in AL MVP voting, according to the AP.

Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young voting, and the Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson, who finished fourth in AL MVP voting, both earned more than $2 million from the pool last season.

The Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras, Kansas City Royals' Cole Ragans, Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran, San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill and New York Yankees' Luis Gil were the only other players to collect more than $1 million from the pool in 2024.

Pete-Armstrong, who earned $342,128 from the bonus pool in 2024, told the AP's Ronald Blum on Friday about the bonus that he was "aware of it after last year, but I have no clue of the numbers."

That might have changed following the AP's report. The outfielder is now on track to more than double the $771,000 salary he is set to collect from the Cubs last season.