Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Injured Utilityman

Cabrera, a utility player who primarily plays at third base, slashed .243/ .322/ .308 for an OPS of .630 in 34 games for the Yankees in 2025. However, his season was short lived after fracturing his left leg against the Seattle Mariners in May, keeping him on the injured list for the remainder of the season. While MLB.com Yankees insider Bryan Hoch reported in June that Cabrera wanted to return at some point during the 2025 season, Curry announced that he should be available at the beginning of spring training.

The 26-year-old first signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 2015 at the age of just 16 and began his pro career with the Dominican Summer League that year. After making his major league debut in 2022, Cabrera bounced around positions as needed before starting the 2024 season at third due to DJ LeMahieu, the Yankees' third baseman at the time, being injured.

What is MLB Arbitration?

According to MLB.com, salary arbitration is "a process each offseason used to determine salaries for a select group of players for the upcoming season." Players eligible for arbitration typically are no longer on their rookie contracts, but have not hit the seven year mark to pursue free agency, though there are some other cases. Pre-arbitration players do not have a say in their forthcoming salaries.

During arbitration, both the players and the team submit an estimate for how much the player's upcoming contract should be worth, and a team of outside auditors decide between the two. The arbitration deadline each season occurs around January, before the beginning of spring training.

Yankees slugger and current free agent Cody Bellinger set the record for the largest contract signed by a player in the first year of arbitration in 2020, when he signed a $11.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Which Yankees are Eligible for Arbitration?

While some arbitration-eligible players are no-brainers for new contracts, such as Jazz Chisholm Jr., David Bednar and Luis Gil (to name just a few, there are a total of 14 players eligible) there are some who the Yankees could choose to set loose. Five relievers (Mark Lieter Jr., Jake Bird, Jake Cousins, Ian Hamilton and Scott Effross) need new contracts with the team, and some could be bidding farewell permanently.

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