Betts breaks the bank in Boston

All but 20 major-leaguers eligible for arbitration settled by Friday deadline

NEW YORK— Outfielder Mookie Betts agreed to a $27-million contract (U.S.) with the Boston Red Sox — the largest one-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player in MLB history — while the Chicago Cubs and third baseman Kris Bryant settled at $18.6 million.

Cincinnati pitcher Trevor Bauer struck a $17.5-million agreement, after winning hearings against Cleveland the previous two winters, and Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor also agreed to $17.5 million. National League MVP Cody Bellinger came to terms at $11.5 million, the largest amount for a first-time eligible player. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, also eligible for the first time, received $8.5 million.

Among 155 players up for arbitration at the start of the day, just 20 will head for hearings next month after exchanging proposals with teams. Just 10 cases went to hearings last year, when players won six times.

Houston outfielder George Springer is asking for a raise from $12.15 million to $22.5 million and was offered $17.5 million — the biggest gap still on the table. In other notable settlements: Blue Jays right-handers Ken Giles and Matt Shoemaker both struck deals above their projected arbitration salaries, according to the website MLB Trade Rumors. Giles will earn $9.6 million — $1.2 million more than he was expected to rake in — while Shoemaker’s $4.2 million is $400,000 over his projected earnings. The Jays also lost infielder Richard Urena off waivers.

Outfielder Aaron Judge agreed to an $8.5 million contract with the New York Yankees, who also reached a $12.5million deal with left-hander James Paxton and a $5-million agreement with catcher Gary Sanchez.

While talks continue toward a long-term deal, the Kansas City Royals and AL home run king Jorge Soler avoided arbitration with a $7.3-million deal plus incentives if the outfielder makes the all-star game or wins the Hank Aaron Award, which goes to each league’s top hitter.

The Mets and right-hander Noah Syndergaard agreed to a $9.7-million contract, after earning $6 million last season.

Rays starter Tyler Glasnow — 6-1with a1.78 ERA over12 starts in an injury-shortened 2019 campaign — settled at $2.05 million.

Betts’ deal topped the old record of $26 million last winter for Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, which led to negotiations on an eight-year deal worth $260 million. A four-time all-star and four-time Gold Glove winner, Betts is eligible for free agency after this coming season.

He was the American League MVP in 2018, when he hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers and 80 RBIs, then helped the Red Sox to the World Series title. He hit .295 last season with 29 homers and 80 RBIs.

According to the FanGraphs wins above replacement metric, only Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been more valuable than Betts over the past four seasons. Betts has been a top-15 position player in WAR in each season since 2016.

Agent Scott Boras and his staff negotiated 19 contracts for arbitration-eligible players totalling $117.75 million — raising the company’s off-season total to more than $1.13 billion.