On Thursday night, Major League Baseball and the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the winners of the 2024 Most Valuable Player Award. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers both received the award unanimously in the American League and National League, respectively. However, Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte also had reason to celebrate.
Marte finished third in the National League MVP voting, behind Ohtani and New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. As a result, Marte will see his base salary for the 2025 season increase from $16 million to $19 million due to an incentives clause in his contract.
According to a report by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Marte’s contract extension signed in March 2022 included a provision for a salary increase of $2 million for finishing fourth through seventh in MVP voting, and a $3 million increase for finishing third or higher.
Ohtani and Judge, the two highest-paid position players in baseball, did not receive any contractual bonuses for winning the MVP award. Lindor, who finished in second place, will receive an additional $25,000.
At 31 years old, Marte had an outstanding season with a .292/.372/.560 batting line, 36 home runs, and 7 stolen bases. His performance earned him an estimated 6.8 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.
This is the second time Marte has been in the running for the MVP Award, with his first consideration coming in 2019 before signing his contract extension. Despite finishing fourth that year, Marte compiled 6.9 Wins Above Replacement.
If Marte continues to receive MVP Award consideration in the future, his contract terms could see him earn additional millions in the following seasons, up to his club option for 2028.
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