SAN DIEGO — To keep Juan Soto beyond the next two seasons, the Padres may eventually have to make him the highest-paid player in MLB history.
For 2023, they merely will pay him more than all but four arbitration-eligible players have ever received.
The team and the 24-year-old outfielder agreed Friday on a $23 million salary to avoid arbitration, multiple sources said.
Sources also said the team and closer Josh Hader agreed on the largest salary ever awarded an arbitration-eligible reliever — $14.1 million in his final year of eligibility — and that pitcher Adrian Morejon has agreed to an $800,000 contract to avoid arbitration in his first year of eligibility.
The Padres, who have not gone to arbitration with any player since 2014, also reportedly agreed to terms with center fielder Trent Grisham ($3.18 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility), catcher Austin Nola ($2.35 million in his first year of eligibility) and reliever Tim Hill ($1.85 million in his second year of eligibility).
Jake Cronenworth, in his first year of eligibility, is the only Padres player left to settle.
Friday is the deadline to exchange figures for arbitration, which prompts many agreements to be made. Sides can still settle after figures are exchanged.
Players generally become arbitration eligible after reaching three years of service time.
Soto became eligible in 2021 as a "Super Two" player, based on his raking among the top 22% in service time among players with less than three years of service time.
He made $17.1 million last season after making $8.5 million in '21. Soto has one more year of arbitration eligibility before he is due to become a free agent. The Padres could sign him to a long-term deal before that.
Soto's '23 salary is tied with Josh Donaldson (2018) as the fourth-highest ever among arbitration eligible players. The Angels' Shohei Ohtani, who is due to become a free agent after this season, agreed in October to a record $30 million salary for '23. The Red Sox and Mookie Betts agreed on a $27 million salary in 2020, and the Rockies paid Nolan Arenado $26 million in 2019.
Soto, whose .950 OPS is third highest in the major leagues since his career began in 2018, will be the third-highest paid Padres player in 2023 behind Manny Machado ($30 million) and Xander Bogaerts ($25 million).
Hader, whose 120 saves since 2019 are second most in the the majors, will be the seventh-highest paid Padres player and fourth-highest paid pitcher behind Joe Musgrove ($20 million), Yu Darvish ($19 million) and Blake Snell ($16 million).
