Article IX-Contracts

[BHows]

Section A- Flat Salary
Item AIX A-1.0
There are no variable salary contracts.  Each year of a contract must have the same salary amount.  The only case where variable salaries are allowed is when a new contract extension is given.

Section B- Minimum Salary
Item AIX B-1.0
All contracts must be signed to at least $500,000 and must be in multiples of $500,000.

Section C- Contract Terms
Item AIX C-1.0
Except for any contract inherited in 2009, all contracts must be no longer than five years.  Also, for a given salary, all contacts have term limits (max years contract can be per the salary) as provided below.

<= $1m, 2 years
$1.5m - $5m, 3 years
$5.5m - $10m, 4 years
> $10m, 5 years (the overall limit)

Note that the term limits apply to the future years of a contract extension.  For example, a 2011 contract could get a three year extension starting in 2012 and ending in 2014.   We still have minimum and maximum years protecting this new contract status, so the total number of future years may not be more than five (for a salary > $10m).  For extensions, term limits apply for years after the current year, so for that 2011 contract example, a $1.5m salary could be given across three years: 2012-2014.  Another example, say it is 2011, and a player has a $1m (2012) contract.  You want to give them an extension at $1.5m/year (term limit of 3 years).  The term limit says that the contract extension can only run through 2014, so the player is paid $1m in 2011, $1m in 2012, $1.5m in 2013, and $1.5m in 2014.  The three-year limit applies to future years!

Item AIX C-2.0
Contract extensions follow the contract maximum lengths as shown above as well as their own minimum standards.

$20m+ - 5 years
$16 to $19.5m - 4 years
$11 to $15.5m - 3 years
$5 to $10.5m - 2 years

Likewise, the minimum standards apply to future years of an extension.  For example, Kenny Lofton is the 11th ranked OF in 2011 (wouldn't that be something) which means he must be paid $12m.  Let's say his existing contract is $5m (2012).  The minimum years for a $12m deal is 3 years and the max is 5 years.  The overall max term limit of a contract is five years after the current year.  Lofton can be given a 4-year $36m extension starting in 2013, so he will be paid $5m in 2011, $5m in 2012, $12m in 2013, $12m in 2014, $12m in 2015, and $12m in 2016.

Section D- Original Contracts
Item AIX D-1.0
All players came in to this league with original deals at July 1st, 2009.  Original contract values are taken from Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Section E- Prospect Contracts
Item AIX E-1.0
1.) A player can be signed to a prospect contract as long as they have pitched less than 40 IP or played in less than 50 games in their career.
2.) The contract is at the league minimum, but it can be more as in the case of some inherited contracts. 
3.) The player may be cut at any time, and the hit to the cap will be zero as long as their salary was at the league minimum
4.) Bonuses are fully guaranteed and stay with winning team for remainder of year.  Note that a player also becomes ineligible for a prospect contract when that player is released from a prospect contract that had its three year clock already start.
5.) The contract lasts for three years after the point they accumulate 40 IP (pitcher) or play in 50 games (position player).  They may accumulate this over multiple year ut the three year rule does not take effect until the year they actually hit the accumulation threshold.  For example:

RP Jose Ramirez, ATL
2014: 10.0 IP
2015:   7.2 IP
2016: 32.2 IP

He passed the 40 IP threshold for his career by 2016.  He may stay under a prospect contract until three years after 2016.  As of the beginning of the 2020 season (or end of 2019 season), he will be considered a free agent unless signed to a new deal.

Section F- Prospect Extension (went into effect after 2010 season)
Item AIX F-1.0
1.) Any player who is currently under a prospect contract may be signed to a regular contract extension (see below), but they may also be signed to a prospect extension.
2.) Prospect extensions are subject to the following stipulations:
     a.) The extension must be a 5-year deal where the annual salary is X% of their market value.   
     b.) The resulting annual salary must be no less than $4m.
3.) No matter what the current prospect contract is, the prospect extension kicks in the following year at the rate based on when the contract is given.
                 
For the 20XX season, the following percentages would be used per prospect status.

20XX (3rd)- 60%
20XX+1 (2nd) - 50%
20XX+2 ()1st)- 40%
20XX+3, n/a (2050) - 30%

Item AIX F-2.0
1.) Effective 6/16/11- Prospect extensions on expired prospect contracts will be the only type of extensions allowable for expired contracts in the offseason.
2.) This window for prospect extensions is open until one week prior to the beginning of offseason free agency.

Section G- Extensions
Item AIX G-1.0
Players can be signed to actual contract extensions at any time.  The new salary for the extension kicks in after the current contract ends.  Players with expired contracts are lost to the FA pool after the regular season.  For example, a 2011 contract (non-prospect) will become a free agent unless the player was signed to an extension during the regular season (fantasy play).  Players signed to an extension cannot be traded for 60 days.

Item AIX G-2.0
A player may be given an extension that is less than their current salary.  However, such an extension has three restrictions.
1) The eligibility period for granting a player an extension below their current salary is only in the last year of their contract.
2) On top of the minimum and maximum years for contracts, the longest this type of extension can be is two years.
3) New salary may be no less than 70% of previous salary.  Therefore, a player with market value of $2.5m, current one-year deal of $5m, can have an extension for two years equal to $3.5m (0.7 * 5 = 3.5).

Item AIX G-3.0
Contract extensions are based on looking up the player's highest salary per ranking by each eligible position in both the current season and the last season.  If an extension is done during the season and before the trade deadline, then the previous TWO seasons and the current season must be looked at.  In the off-season, the last two seasons will be used.  Therefore...

OFFSEASON (2025-26): 2024 and 2025 rankings are used
REGULAR SEASON, PRE-JULY 31ST (2026): 2024, 2025, and 2026 rankings are used
REGULAR SEASON, AFTER JULY 31ST (2026): 2025 and 2026 rankings are used
OFFSEASON (2026-2027); 2025 and 2026 rankings are used

The salary information will be compiled in a spreadsheet calculator that is updated at the beginning of each regular season.
All contract extensions must be approved by the commissioner.

Examples of positional ranking look-up
Say I want to give an extension to Javier Baez.  Baez, a MI, is ranked 76th by Fantrax points for MI in 2020.  His 2019 ranking is higher at 20.  Therefore, to determine how much Barz is worth without going through the FA market, we look up the 20th highest MI contract.

CI-MI La Stella, Tommy, $0.5m (2020)
With this expiring contract, and after July 31st, the Fantrax statistics for 2019 and 2020 are used.  As a CI he was #12 and as a MI he was #11.  The salary for a CI at #12 is $11.0m, for an MI at #11 it is $8.0m.  Regardless of the rank or position, the highest monetary extension shall be used, which in this case is the CI ranking of #12 because it is $11.0m.

C Posey, Buster, $13.0m (2020)
All teams encounter players with expiring contracts that have underperformed, or are injured, or in some cases, sit out a year, and are worthy of a roster spot, at less than their current salary.  Posey’s highest rank is #89 during the 2020 season.  That rank would normally equate to a contract extension of only $0.5m, but with an expiring contract of $13.50m, his extension must be at least 70% of that $13.5m, which is $9.5m.  Normally, an extension of $9.5m could be for up to four years, but because of our "70% rule", it can only be for two years.

Section H- Extension Values
Item AIX H-1.0
1.) Use to following table to determine contract extension amounts.
2.) This table will be evaluated and/or updated every year during the offseason following free agency.

2026 Extension Values
Updated 4/18/26

There is an extension calculator available here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1D6KmFQ38SHglZCIZlgN-iAuzw3RmhQlB0NhmqqfFwSA/edit#gid=953971015

       Catchers

Rank    Name   Amount
      
1   J.T. Realmuto         $9.50
2   Danny Jansen       $8.00
3   Cal Raleigh       $5.50
4   William Contreras   $5.50
5   Tyler Stephenson    $5.00
6   Sean Murphy        $5.00
7   Shea Langeliers        $5.00
8   Keibert Ruiz   $5.00
9   Adley Rutschman   $4.50
10   Jonah Heim   $4.00
11   Ryan Jeffers   $4.00
12   Miguel Amaya   $4.00
13   Carson Kelly   $4.00
14   Will Smith   $4.00
15   Patrick Bailey   $4.00
16   Elias Diaz   $4.00
17   Nick Fortes   $2.50
18   Luis Torrens   $2.50
18   Victor Caratini   $2.50
20   Ben Rortvedt   $2.00
21   Joey Bart   $2.00
22   Alejandro Kirk   $2.00
23   Jose Trevino   $1.50
24   Kyle Higashioka   $1.50
25   Connor Wong   $1.00
26   Mitch Garver   $1.00
27   Sam Huff   $1.00
28   Jake Rogers   $1.00
29   Jake Rogers   $1.00
30   Travis d'Arnaud   $1.00
31   Joe Mack   $0.50

         Corner Infielders

Rank   Name   Amount
      
1   Jose Ramirez   $22.00
2   Freddie Freeman   $20.00
3   Vladimir Guerrero Jr.   $18.00
4   Bryce Harper   $17.00
5   Nolan Arenado   $16.50
6   Paul Goldschmidt   $15.50
7   Matt Chapman   $15.00
8   Matt Olson   $14.00
9   Manny Machado   $12.00
10   Austin Riley   $12.00
11   Isaac Paredes   $12.00
12   Kazuma Okamoto   $11.00
13   J.D. Davis   $10.00
14   Alex Bregman   $10.00
15   Munetaka Murakami   $9.00
16   Ryan Mountcastle   $8.00
17   Willson Contreras   $8.00
18   Nathaniel Lowe   $8.00
18   Alec Bohm   $8.00
20   LaMonte Wade Jr.   $7.00
21   Pete Alonso   $6.50
22   Eugenio Suarez   $6.00
23   Yoan Moncada   $5.50
24   Max Muncy   $4.50
25   Josh Jung   $4.00
26   Ke'Bryan Hayes   $4.00
27   Ryan McMahon   $4.00
28   Spencer Torkelson   $4.00
29   Andrew Vaughn   $4.00
30   Vinnie Pasquantino   $4.00
31   Christian Walker   $4.00
32   Josh Naylor   $4.00
33   Gio Urshela   $4.00
34   Jose Tena   $3.00
35   Jake Burger   $3.00
36   Rhys Hoskins   $3.00
37   Amed Rosario   $3.00
38   Rafael Flores   $2.50
39   Tyler Austin   $2.50
40   Emmanuel Rivera   $2.00
41   Carlos Santana   $2.00
42   Colin Yeaman   $0.50

      Middle Infielders

Rank   Name   Amount

1   Marcus Semien   $20.00
2   Mookie Betts   $18.00
3   Geraldo Perdomo   $16.50
4   Bobby Witt Jr.   $16.00
5   Corey Seager   $16.00
6   Trea Turner   $14.00
7   Gunnar Henderson   $12.00
8   Ketel Marte   $10.00
9   Trevor Story   $8.00
10   Francisco Lindor   $8.00
11   Xander Bogaerts   $7.00
12   Jonathan India   $6.50
13   Ha-seong Kim   $6.00
14   Jake Cronenworth   $5.00
15   Gleyber Torres   $5.00
16   Brendan Donovan   $5.00
17   Ozzie Albies   $5.00
18   Jeremy Pena   $5.00
18   Nico Hoerner   $4.50
20   Dansby Swanson   $4.50
21   Brandon Lowe   $4.50
22   CJ Abrams   $4.00
23   Bryson Stott   $4.00
24   Elly De La Cruz   $4.00
25   J.P. Crawford   $4.00
26   Brendan Rodgers   $4.00
27   Andres Gimenez   $4.00
28   Hyeseong Kim   $4.00
29   Willy Adames   $4.00
30   Jorbit Vivas   $3.00
31   Jorge Mateo   $2.00
32   Michael Massey   $1.50
33   Leo Rivas   $1.50
34   David Hamilton   $1.50
35   Miguel Rojas   $1.50
36   Tristan Gray   $1.00
37   Tyson Lewis   $0.50

      Outfielders

Rank   Name   Amount
      
1   Julio Rodriguez   $28.50
2   Aaron Judge   $20.00
3   Brandon Nimmo   $17.50
4   Lars Nootbaar   $12.00
5   Jung Hoo Lee   $10.00
6   Byron Buxton   $10.00
7   Mike Yastrzemski   $10.00
8   Cedric Mullins   $10.00
9   Ian Happ   $9.00
10   Juan Soto   $9.00
11   Teoscar Hernandez   $8.00
12   Randy Arozarena   $8.00
13   Trent Grisham   $7.50
14   Jorge Soler   $7.50
15   Ronald Acuna Jr.   $7.00
16   Cody Bellinger   $7.00
17   Will Brennan   $6.50
18   Bryan Reynolds   $6.50
18   Oneil Cruz   $6.00
20   Kyle Tucker   $6.00
21   Jarren Duran   $6.00
22   Zach Cole Jr.   $5.50
23   Leody Taveras   $5.50
24   Lourdes Gurriel Jr.   $5.50
25   George Springer   $5.50
26   Nick Castellanos   $5.50
27   Matt Vierling   $5.00
28   Riley Greene   $5.00
29   Jake McCarthy   $5.00
30   Fernando Tatis Jr.   $5.00
31   Gavin Sheets   $5.00
32   TJ Friedl   $4.50
33   Jesus Sanchez   $4.50
34   Taylor Ward   $4.50
35   Bryan De La Cruz   $4.00
36   Daulton Varsho   $4.00
37   Josh Lowe   $4.00
38   Steven Kwan   $4.00
39   Jarred Kelenic   $4.00
40   Austin Hays   $4.00
41   Alex Call   $4.00
42   Brenton Doyle   $4.00
43   Lane Thomas   $4.00
44   Brandon Marsh   $4.00
45   Adolis Garcia   $4.00
46   Jackson Merrill   $4.00
47   Andrew Benintendi   $4.00
48   Michael Harris II   $4.00
49   Sal Frelick   $4.00
50   Christopher Morel   $4.00
51   Luis Robert Jr.   $4.00
52   Alek Thomas   $4.00
53   Kerry Carpenter   $4.00
54   Harrison Bader   $4.00
55   Mickey Moniak   $4.00
56   Alex Verdugo   $4.00
57   Bryce Teodosio   $4.00
58   Griffin Conine   $3.50
58   Davis Schneider   $3.50
60   JJ Bleday   $3.00
61   Kyle Isbel   $2.50
62   Jahmai Jones   $2.50
63   Jake Fraley   $2.50
64   Francisco Renteria   $2.50
65   Ramon Laureano   $2.50
66   Mike Tauchman   $2.50
67   Tommy Pham   $2.00
68   Austin Slater   $2.00
69   Mitch Haniger   $2.00
70   Carlos Cortes   $1.50
71   Jake Mangum   $1.50
72   Michael Conforto   $1.50
73   Tyler O'Neill   $1.50
74   Jacob Young   $1.50
75   Matt Wallner   $1.00
76   Sam Haggerty   $1.00
77   Jorge Barrosa   $1.00
78   Tyler Tolbert   $1.00
79   Nathan Church   $1.00
80   Drew Gilbert   $0.50

           Starting Pitchers

Rank   Name   Amount
      
1   Roki Sasaki   $30.00
2   Yoshinobu Yamamoto   $26.00
3   Bailey Ober   $22.00
4   Aaron Nola   $18.00
5   Gerrit Cole   $16.50
6   Zack Wheeler   $16.50
7   Framber Valdez   $16.50
8   Shane Bieber   $15.00
9   Logan Gilbert   $15.00
10   Chris Sale   $15.00
11   Tarik Skubal   $15.00
12   Logan Webb   $15.00
13   Blake Snell   $14.00
14   George Kirby   $14.00
15   Carlos Rodon   $13.00
16   MacKenzie Gore   $12.00
17   Cristopher Sanchez   $10.50
18   Zach Eflin   $10.50
18   Corbin Burnes   $10.00
20   Kevin Gausman   $10.00
21   Justin Verlander   $10.00
22   Luis Garcia   $10.00
23   Sandy Alcantara   $10.00
24   Kyle Bradish   $9.50
25   Sonny Gray   $9.00
26   Sean Manaea   $9.00
27   Kodai Senga   $8.50
28   Max Fried   $8.00
29   Nathan Eovaldi   $8.00
30   Cole Ragans   $8.00
31   Luis Castillo   $8.00
32   Yusei Kikuchi   $8.00
33   Jose Berrios   $8.00
34   Brandon Woodruff   $8.00
35   Dylan Cease   $8.00
36   Merrill Kelly   $8.00
37   Tatsuya Imai   $8.00
38   Kris Bubic   $7.50
39   Luis Severino   $7.50
40   Lance McCullers Jr.   $7.50
41   Michael Soroka   $7.00
42   Shota Imanaga   $7.00
43   Jack Flaherty   $7.00
44   Zac Gallen   $6.50
45   Shane Baz   $6.50
46   Dean Kremer   $6.50
47   Spencer Strider   $6.50
48   Chris Bassitt   $6.00
49   Seth Lugo   $6.00
50   Nestor Cortes Jr.   $6.00
51   Justin Steele   $6.00
52   Tyler Glasnow   $6.00
53   Walker Buehler   $6.00
54   Alex Cobb   $6.00
55   Clay Holmes   $6.00
56   Bryan Woo   $6.00
57   Tanner Houck   $6.00
58   Nick Pivetta   $6.00
58   Michael Wacha   $6.00
60   Patrick Sandoval   $6.00
61   Tanner Bibee   $5.50
62   Cristian Javier   $5.50
63   Jameson Taillon   $5.50
64   Dustin May   $5.50
65   Jordan Montgomery   $5.50
66   Jack Leiter   $5.50
67   Jack Perkins   $5.50
68   Tyler Mahle   $5.50
69   Lucas Giolito   $5.50
70   Chris Paddack   $5.50
71   Cole Irvin   $5.50
72   Jacob deGrom   $5.50
73   Michael King   $5.50
74   Tyler Anderson   $5.00
75   Garrett Crochet   $5.00
76   Jose Soriano   $5.00
77   Davis Martin   $5.00
78   Zack Littell   $5.00
79   Jesus Luzardo   $5.00
80   Cody Ponce   $5.00
81   Freddy Peralta   $5.00
82   Brady Singer   $5.00
83   Joe Ryan   $4.50
84   Eduardo Rodriguez   $4.50
85   Nick Lodolo   $4.00
86   Easton Lucas   $4.00
87   Reynaldo Lopez   $4.00
88   Joe Musgrove   $4.00
89   Bryce Elder   $4.00
90   Braxton Garrett   $4.00
91   Hunter Brown   $4.00
92   Pablo Lopez   $4.00
93   Alek Manoah   $4.00
94   Casey Mize   $4.00
95   Brayan Bello   $4.00
96   Tomoyuki Sugano   $4.00
97   Drew Rasmussen   $4.00
98   Hunter Greene   $4.00
99   Shane McClanahan   $4.00
100   Aaron Civale   $4.00
101   Mitch Keller   $4.00
102   Ranger Suarez   $4.00
103   John Means   $4.00
104   Cal Quantrill   $4.00
105   Ryan Pepiot   $4.00
106   Tylor Megill   $4.00
107   David Peterson   $3.50
108   Robbie Ray   $3.00
109   Clarke Schmidt   $3.00
110   Chad Patrick   $3.00
111   Cade Povich   $3.00
112   Kutter Crawford   $2.50
113   Jose Quintana   $2.50
114   Andre Pallante   $2.50
115   Ryan Yarbrough   $2.50
116   Max Scherzer   $2.00
117   Kyle Freeland   $2.00
118   Edward Cabrera   $2.00
119   Colin Rea   $2.00
120   Bradley Blalock   $2.00
121   Bailey Falter   $2.00
122   Ryan Weathers   $1.50
123   Tony Gonsolin   $1.50
124   Griffin Canning   $1.50
125   Josiah Gray   $1.50
126   German Marquez   $1.50
127   Miles Mikolas   $1.50
128   Paul Blackburn   $1.50
129   Tanner Gordon   $1.50
130   Logan Evans   $1.50
131   Landen Roupp   $1.50
132   Jacob Lopez   $1.00
133   Michael Lorenzen   $1.00
134   Johan Oviedo   $1.00
135   Julio Urias   $1.00
136   Trevor Rogers   $1.00
137   Erick Fedde   $1.00
138   Stephen Kolek   $1.00
139   Jake Bloss   $0.50

      Relief Pitchers

Rank   Name   Amount
      
1   Jose Suarez   $8.00
2   Yuki Matsui   $7.50
3   Abner Uribe   $6.50
4   Triston McKenzie   $6.00
5   Aroldis Chapman   $6.00
6   Ryan Helsley   $6.00
7   Devin Williams   $6.00
8   Chad Green   $5.00
9   Edwin Uceta   $5.00
10   Robert Suarez   $4.00
11   Garrett Whitlock   $4.00
12   Luke Weaver   $4.00
13   Andres Munoz   $4.00
14   Edwin Diaz   $4.00
15   Louis Varland   $4.00
16   Troy Taylor   $3.50
17   Jeff Hoffman   $3.50
18   Greg Weissert   $3.00
18   Alex Vesia   $3.00
20   Camilo Doval   $3.00
21   Graham Ashcraft   $3.00
22   Carlos Estevez   $3.00
23   Josh Hader   $3.00
24   Albert Suarez   $2.50
25   Tanner Scott   $2.50
26   Tyler Rogers   $2.50
27   Seranthony Dominguez   $2.50
28   Cole Sulser   $2.50
29   Dylan Lee   $2.50
30   Michael Kopech   $2.00
31   Eric Orze   $2.00
32   Ryan Zeferjahn   $2.00
33   JT Brubaker   $2.00
34   Lucas Erceg   $2.00
35   Robert Garcia   $2.00
36   Matt Strahm   $2.00
37   Will Vest   $2.00
38   Jose Butto   $2.00
39   Brad Keller   $2.00
40   Joe Jimenez   $1.50
41   Jhoan Duran   $1.50
42   A.J. Minter   $1.50
43   Cade Smith   $1.50
44   Juan Mejia   $1.50
45   Griffin Jax   $1.50
46   Bradgley Rodriguez   $1.50
47   Kevin Kelly   $1.50
48   Kyle Finnegan   $1.50
49   Bryan Abreu   $1.50
50   Yariel Rodriguez   $1.50
51   Garrett Cleavinger   $1.50
52   Hunter Harvey   $1.50
53   Aaron Ashby   $1.50
54   Jason Adam   $1.50
55   Cole Sands   $1.50
56   Eduard Bazardo   $1.50
57   Cionel Perez   $1.50
58   Luke Jackson   $1.50
58   Trent Thornton   $1.50
60   Jimmy Herget   $1.50
61   A.J. Puk   $1.50
62   Andrew Nardi   $1.50
63   Raisel Iglesias   $1.50
64   Trevor Megill   $1.50
65   Tim Mayza   $1.50
66   Fernando Cruz   $1.50
67   Pierce Johnson   $1.50
68   Tyler Kinley   $1.50
69   Adrian Morejon   $1.50
70   David Bednar   $1.50
71   Emilio Pagan   $1.00
72   Kirby Yates   $1.00
73   Keegan Akin   $1.00
74   Steven Okert   $1.00
75   Riley O'Brien   $1.00
76   Aaron Bummer   $1.00
77   Jacob Webb   $1.00
78   Phil Maton   $1.00
79   Wandy Peralta   $1.00
80   Andrew Kittredge   $1.00
81   Taylor Rogers   $1.00
82   Jesse Scholtens   $1.00
83   Blake Treinen   $1.00
84   Jose Urquidy   $1.00
85   Pete Fairbanks   $1.00
86   Paul Sewald   $1.00
87   Luke Little   $0.50


Adopted 10/26/15
Discussion
Poll