Mookie Betts has emerged a winner in his first trip through arbitration.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder reportedly defeated his team in his arbitration hearing on Tuesday and will earn a $10.5-million salary in 2018, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
The Red Sox had asked that Betts be paid $7.5 million.
Betts' salary for the coming season is a new record for the largest ever awarded to a first-year eligible player through a hearing, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. It's also mere decimal points shy of the record salary for a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility; that mark is now held by Kris Bryant, who avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $10.85-million deal with the Chicago Cubs earlier this month.
The 25-year-old Betts appeared in 153 games for the Red Sox last season, hitting .264/.344/.459 (108 OPS+) with 24 homers, 26 stolen bases, 46 doubles, and 102 RBIs. It was his second straight 20-20 season, and the third time he's recorded over 40 two-base hits. Betts also took home his second straight Gold Glove in right field and finished sixth in AL MVP voting.
Betts was Boston's lone arbitration case of this offseason.
