Question of the week: What will the 2026 Opening Day payroll look like?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Let us know your thoughts!

[notin]

$191-200m

Squeeze that one big contract in there, but not go overboard…

[moonslav59]

The tax line is $244M, which includes $18M for player benefits and another $8M or so for 40 man roster "filler players" and the pre-arb bonus pool, so that leaves about $218M on the players without paying any taxes at the year 2 rate.

I will be upset if we don't make an effort to maximize spending to fill the 3-4 needs we have. I realize JH & Co are here to make money, but winning helps make money, too.

IMO, going up to the second tax line and then resetting next year should be the plan. That would mean signing 1-2 high AAV deals for 1 year and maybe 1-2 longer deals. We have some kids that need to prove they deserve a slot, so 1-2 one year deals would allow that to happen.

#1 3B power bat (2B, if Mayer plays 3B)

T#2 SP2

T#2 1B power bat

(#4 2B/3B, but fill these top 2 well, and I'm fine with counting on Mayer, Romy and Associates to fill #4.)

We can probably fill one slot via trade. I suggest the #2 SP'er, so the financial resources could be focused on 2-3 players and not 3-4. Higher quality is our real top priority.