Jo Adell is projected to earn $9.6 million through arbitration for 2027, according to a model published Friday by MLB Trade Rumors, nearly double the salary he received before a midseason trade to the Cleveland Guardians.
The estimate, produced by Matt Swartz’s long-running formula, lists the outfielder at 5.085 years of major league service. That would be his final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency after the 2027 season.
Adell avoided a hearing last winter, signing a one-year, $5.2 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in January, Spotrac reported. He had agreed to $2.1 million the previous offseason.
The Angels traded him to Cleveland on Aug. 3 for catcher Jacob Cozart and retained most of that salary. Spotrac lists about $3.67 million as retained money, with Cleveland responsible for roughly $1.53 million.
Swartz’s model projects salaries from playing time, position, role and performance, with an adjustment for inflation. MLB Trade Rumors says the results are a payroll guide, not a scorecard for any one negotiation.
The site also notes that service-time totals are not final and that the Super Two cutoff is not official. Adell’s case does not depend on that line.
His platform season was a full one. Adell played 159 games and hit .240 with 23 home runs and 94 RBIs, according to MLB.com and ESPN. He drew 34 walks, struck out 157 times and stole five bases.
The slash line was .240/.298/.401, a .699 OPS. Power was down from the year before, and the on-base mark stayed under .300.
The trade split the year. With the Angels he hit .239 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs in 111 games. After the deal he hit .244 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 48 games.
That Cleveland stretch produced a .740 OPS. ESPN credited him with 0.8 wins above replacement after the trade and 0.5 for the full season.
The year before remains the peak. In 2025 with Los Angeles, Adell hit .236 with 37 home runs and 98 RBIs, a .778 OPS, in 152 games.
Across seven seasons with the Angels and Guardians, he has a .226 average, 98 home runs and 320 RBIs in 619 games, MLB.com reported. The career OPS is .695.
The Angels drafted him 10th overall in 2017 out of high school in Shelby, North Carolina. He debuted in 2020 and has spent most of his career as a corner outfielder.
MLB Trade Rumors projects 13 arbitration-eligible Guardians. Steven Kwan is the club’s highest figure on the list, at $11.3 million. Cade Smith is next among the pitchers, at $5.5 million.
Teams and agents usually settle by comparing recent seasons, and deals signed before the non-tender deadline are not always treated as standard comparables, the site said. Adell’s raise is tied to playing time and the 2025 power season more than the .240 average.
A decision will come at the non-tender deadline if the sides cannot agree. The projection would be his largest salary yet, with free agency waiting after 2027.
