Baseball players from the Dominican Republic who were able to pass the Major Leagues had their bank accounts closed being flooded with green ballots, the first under the new labor pact that will be in force until 2026, Diario Libre reported.

The salary received by the Dominican troops in 2022 was US$459,002,490, a 15% increase over what they were paid in 2021 ($402,500,931).

The 96 natives with MLB contracts had the option to receive US$408,375,123 at the start of 2022. However, the amount increased by US$50,627,367 thanks to 35 new players and 51 returning veterans, who brought the total number of natives on the course to 182, a record-breaking high.

Despite the increase, what accrued in 2017 remains the largest amount of disbursements made to Dominicans. That year the teams paid $466,470,809 according to Spotrac.

That amount doesn't include the postseason deal, which this year reached a record $107 million.

In a squad that includes Duartians Jeremy Peña, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Héctor Neris, each player from the world champion Houston Astros who received the top package earned US$516,347.

Another accomplishment of the new compensation deal was the delivery of a US$50 million package to the best players who have not yet reached arbitration.

The average player income, if the total compensation had been distributed equally, would have been US$2.5 million. However, the way the institution is set up is not about communism or equity. This goes from the time of services, background, projection, etc.

That threshold could only be reached by 51 of the group. In reality, the 38 who received at least $4 million in payouts received payments totaling $348,242,870, or 75.8% of the total. Shared by the remaining 144 was US$110,759,620, or 24.2% of the total.

This is accounted for by the fact that the largest group (98) was in the pre-arbitration situation, meaning they lacked the required three years of service. During the first year of arbitration, there were 18, 26 during the second, and 12 during the third. Among the bulk, just 28 had more than six years of service and qualified as veterans.

Earnings were led by Manny Machado, who brought in $32 million. Robinson Canó ($24 million), who came in second, played in just 33 games.

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