Andrew Benintendi won his arbitration hearing against the Royals this year and will earn $8.5 million in his final year under the arbitration system. The Royals had countered with an offer of $7.3 million. The arbiter must rule for one side or the other, not a split in the difference. The Royals have only had one arbitration case go to a hearing under Dayton Moore, with Brandon Maurer losing his case in 2018.
Arbitration hearings typically take place in February, but they were pushed into the regular season this year due to the owner lockout. Benintendi earned $6.