Opening Day is just four days away. Though the roster is not completely set, we are close enough to the start of the regular season that we can get an idea of what the payroll will be. Since the last projection in January, there have been several changes. Let’s take a look at the updated payroll projection.
Here are some reminders for the projection.
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Per the CBA, the minimum salary for players in 2026 is $780,000. Any pre-arbitration player has this salary listed by default. These salaries can be slightly different for each player, but not by a significant amount.
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Since we are a few days away from the start of the regular season, this is based on the current projected Opening Day roster. Any changes to the payroll should be small. Also, as usual, minimum salaries can be swapped out for any other minimum salary player that would be in the minors.
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The final projected payroll for 2025 was $156,266,827, per Spotrac. Eliminating some of the extra sources that they account for (such as the player benefits and pre-arbitration bonus pool), the projected payroll for players who were on the roster was $134,567,736.
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Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists the Brewers’ final payroll of their 40-man roster in 2025 at $117.1 million. For their Competitive Balance Tax payroll calculation, it came in at $145.5 million. One major difference between the two is factoring in the declined options. Spotrac factors them into 2025, while Cot’s factors them into 2026.
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In previous projections, I focused more on all of the sources that account for the Brewers’ payroll. To simplify it, this projection will focus just on the actual Opening Day roster.
First, here are the projections for the initial roster.
|
Position Players |
Bench Players |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
C – William Contreras |
$9,400,000 |
C – Gary Sánchez |
$1,750,000 |
|
1B – Andrew Vaughn |
$7,650,000 |
1B – Jake Bauers |
$2,700,000 |
|
2B – Brice Turang |
$4,150,000 |
UT – David Hamilton |
$780,000 |
|
3B – Luis Rengifo |
$2,000,000 |
OF – Brandon Lockridge |
$780,000 |
|
SS – Joey Ortiz |
$780,000 |
||
|
LF – Jackson Chourio |
$7,000,000 |
||
|
CF – Garrett Mitchell |
$950,000 |
||
|
RF – Sal Frelick |
$780,000 |
||
|
DH – Christian Yelich |
$22,000,000 |
|
Starting Pitchers |
Relief Pitchers |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Brandon Woodruff |
$22,025,000 |
Aaron Ashby |
$5,500,000 |
|
Jacob Misiorowski |
$780,000 |
Trevor Megill |
$4,700,000 |
|
Chad Patrick |
$780,000 |
Angel Zerpa |
$1,095,000 |
|
Brandon Sproat |
$780,000 |
Abner Uribe |
$780,000 |
|
Kyle Harrison |
$780,000 |
Jared Koenig |
$780,000 |
|
Grant Anderson |
$780,000 |
||
|
DL Hall |
$780,000 |
||
|
Robert Gasser |
$780,000 |
|
Injured List |
|
|---|---|
|
Akil Baddoo |
$1,250,000 |
|
Quinn Priester |
$780,000 |
|
Rob Zastryzny |
$780,000 |
|
Craig Yoho* |
$780,000 |
|
Steward Berroa* |
$780,000 |
|
Summary |
Amount |
|---|---|
|
Position Players |
$54,710,000 |
|
Bench Players |
$6,010,000 |
|
Starting Pitchers |
$25,145,000 |
|
Relief Pitchers |
$15,195,000 |
|
Injured List |
$4,370,000 |
For comparison, Cot’s lists the Brewers’ Opening Day 26-man payroll in 2025 at $108,058,836. That was 24th in MLB.
Here’s a summary of what has changed since the last version:
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William Contreras agreed to a $9.4-million salary, avoiding arbitration. His original projection was at $9.9 million.
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Gary Sánchez signed a one-year deal. His salary of $1.75 million replaces Jeferson Quero’s minimum salary.
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Following the trade of Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio, David Hamilton joins the roster in the utility spot. In additon, Luis Rengifo was signed to a one-year contract, adding his $2 million over a minimum salary.
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Some of the minimum-salary names have changed. Brandon Lockridge replaces Blake Perkins in the outfield. Quinn Priester starts the season on the IL, while Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison replace him and Logan Henderson.
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The original lists included a 14-position player and 12-pitcher split, but they have been updated to reflect the expected 13 position players and 13 pitchers.
Overall, the payroll is slightly lower than where it started in 2025. That could still end up slightly higher, though. There are still a few unknowns for the roster, mainly with the pitching staff. Brandon Woodruff and Kyle Harrison could both start the season on the IL, but that is still to be determined. If they open the season on the IL, there will be two more minimum salaries to add. Also, while I have Craig Yoho and Steward Berroa on the IL, it’s not clear if they would be on the major league or minor league IL.
These salaries will fluctuate as the season goes on. Some players have incentives built into their contracts that will raise their salaries. Also, there will be additions and subtractions as the season goes on. Cot’s has an initial projection of $126.3 million for the Brewers’ 40-man roster. Note that this projection does include some of the Brewers’ declined options following the end of the 2025 season. It also includes projected minor league player payments for the 40-man roster, as well as an estimated $3.96 million for injury replacements throughout the season.
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