Future Salary Obligations Of All 30 Teams
Recently, we ran through the full slate of future financial commitments teams have made to MLB players. As I explained throughout that series of posts, there are several different ways to look at salaries. Since the purpose of this exercise is to see where teams stand as we enter a period of massive uncertainty in the player market, we utilized actual cash still due beyond the 2020 campaign. That includes signing bonuses, deferred money, and money owed to since-traded players.
Every individual team’s breakout can be found at this link. Little has changed since, with one notable exception: the sizable Mookie Betts deal now resides on the Dodgers’ balance sheet. It’s reflected in the charts below. Now, we can put it all together to see how every team stacks up around the game. There’s over $7B in total future commitments tallied here. We’ll break it out in several ways (all charts in millions of dollars).
This chart shows total future MLB guaranteed contract commitments, in the aggregate.
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Future MLB Contracts
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| 2021 | $4,146.86 |
| 2022 | $3,459.90 |
| 2023 | $3,069.35 |
| 2024 | $2,730.37 |
| 2025 | $2,464.12 |
| 2026+ | $1,378.47 |
| Total | $7,134.08 |
And here we have each team’s total future commitments. These numbers would look different if we applied a discount rate, of course. Some teams with longer-fuse commitments (the Brewers and Dodgers, for example) would come out looking lighter. But there’s no single correct discount rate to apply, particularly in times as uncertain as these. So we’ll stick with a simple tally.
| Rank | Team | Total |
| 1 | Angels | $651.00 |
| 2 | Yankees | $612.00 |
| 3 | Dodgers | $533.36 |
| 4 | Nationals | $488.68 |
| 5 | Phillies | $488.50 |
| 6 | Padres | $396.00 |
| 7 | Red Sox | $355.85 |
| 8 | Rockies | $337.50 |
| 9 | White Sox | $317.75 |
| 10 | Brewers | $299.30 |
| 11 | Reds | $290.88 |
| 12 | Astros | $254.79 |
| 13 | Cardinals | $230.75 |
| 14 | Cubs | $228.50 |
| 15 | Braves | $204.53 |
| 16 | Mets | $201.00 |
| 17 | Diamondbacks | $166.43 |
| 18 | Twins | $154.02 |
| 19 | Giants | $129.15 |
| 20 | Blue Jays | $122.07 |
| 21 | Mariners | $115.45 |
| 22 | Orioles | $106.00 |
| 23 | Tigers | $102.00 |
| 24 | Rangers | $101.50 |
| 25 | Rays | $101.17 |
| 26 | Indians | $40.65 |
| 27 | Royals | $38.75 |
| 28 | Athletics | $37.00 |
| 29 | Pirates | $15.25 |
| 30 | Marlins | $14.25 |
The most interesting way to look at the numbers is to examine all the teams’ commitments in the same chart, by year. But that’s also tough to present in a legible manner. You’ll have to click on these to see all the details.
First, the top 15 teams by total commitments (link to expand):
And now the bottom 15 teams (link to expand):
Manny & Hoz Account For Bulk Of Padres’ Long-Term Contract Commitments
2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We have now run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. The final team is the Padres:
*Manny Machado may opt out after 2023
*Eric Hosmer may opt out after 2022
*Includes buyouts on club options over Wil Myers, Craig Stammen, and Pierce Johnson
*Includes estimated distribution of signing bonus in Drew Pomeranz contract
(click to expand/view detail list)
MadBum And The Rest Of The D-Backs’ Future Payroll Promises
2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Diamondbacks:
*Reflects deferred salary in Madison Bumgarner contract
*Includes buyouts on club options over Ketel Marte, Starling Marte, Merrill Kelly, Stephen Vogt, Hector Rondon, and Junior Guerra
*Includes remaining signing bonus to be paid to Nick Ahmed
*Includes remaining salary obligation to Zack Greinke
*Does not include buyout of Mike Leake mutual option, which is owed by Mariners
(click to expand/view detail list)
Dodgers Have Diversified Slate Of Future Commitments
2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Dodgers:
*Includes buyouts on club options over Joe Kelly, Max Muncy
*Reflects remaining portion of David Price salary owed by Red Sox
*Includes 2023 player option of A.J. Pollock (due $5MM buyout if he declines)
(click to expand/view detail list)
Looking At The Rockies’ Post-2020 Payroll
2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Rockies:
*Nolan Arenado may opt out after 2021
*Includes Charlie Blackmon 2022 & 2023 player options
*Includes buyouts on club options over German Marquez, Ian Desmond, Daniel Murphy, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw
*Includes buyout on mutual option in Wade Davis contract
(click to expand/view detail list)
Giants Have Trimmed Long-Term Payroll Obligations
2020 salary terms still need to be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Giants:
*Includes buyouts on club options over Evan Longoria, Johnny Cueto, Buster Posey, and Wilmer Flores
*Reflects remaining portion of Evan Longoria salary owed by Rays
*Includes remaining signing bonus obligation to Johnny Cueto
(click to expand/view detail list)
Pirates Have Minimal Post-2020 Payroll Commitments
2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Pirates:
*Includes buyouts on club options over Chris Archer and Gregory Polanco
*Does not include remaining contractual obligations to Felipe Vazquez (on restricted list and facing multiple criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions)
(click to expand/view detail list)
Reds Have Nearly $300MM In Post-2020 Payroll Promises
2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Reds:
*Includes buyouts on club options over Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Eugenio Suarez, Wade Miley, and Tucker Barnhart
*Includes deferrals and buyout on mutual option in Nick Castellanos contract; Castellanos may opt out after 2020 or 2021
(click to expand/view detail list)
Breaking Down The Brewers’ Interesting Slate Of Future Contracts
2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Brewers:
*Includes deferrals in Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain contracts
*Includes deferrals and buyout on mutual option in Ryan Braun contract
*Includes buyouts on club options over Freddy Peralta, Avisail Garcia, Justin Smoak, Jedd Gyorko, Brock Holt, Eric Sogard, and David Phelps
(click to expand/view detail list)
Calculating The Cards’ Future Contract Guarantees
2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Cardinals:
*Includes remaining bonus payments owed to Paul Goldschmidt, Miles Mikolas, and Dexter Fowler
*Includes buyouts on club options in Carlos Martinez, Paul DeJong, Matt Carpenter, Andrew Miller, and Kolten Wong contracts
(click to expand/view detail list)
