Updated Los Angeles Dodgers payroll if they sign Kirby Yates and more
If you haven't heard from an angry MLB fan in your life, the Los Angeles Dodgers are breaking baseball. That's not actually the case but the reigning World Series champs seemingly have no problem just continuing to spend and blowing past every CBT and luxury tax threshold that there possibly could be.
And it doesn't seem like they're stopping.
USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported on Tuesday morning that the Dodgers and free-agent closer Kirby Yates are nearing a deal that comes just days after LA inked another top closer on the market, Tanner Scott, to a lucrative four-year, $72 million pact.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who already have folks screaming about their payroll, have reached a tentative agreement with free-agent closer Kirby Yates, pending a physical. The deal comes on the heels of signing Tanner Scott to a 4-year, $72 million contract.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 21, 2025
The Dodgers have come under the most scrutiny because of their heavy use of deferrals. Shohei Ohtani, who signed in LA last offseason, is the most egregious offender there with an absurd $680 million in deferred money on his $700 million deal. But overall with that included, this club has more than $1 billion in deferred money.
That, however, doesn't save them from the luxury tax in terms of their annual payroll, which is based on guarantees and average annual value. Now, with Yates potentially coming into the fold, that payroll number gets even more absurd.
Updated Los Angeles Dodgers payroll with Kirby Yates is downright appalling
According to Fangraphs, just after the Scott signing alone, the Dodgers are sitting with a ridiculous luxury tax payroll of $370 million and some change ($370,816,946 if you want to be exact). Here's how that breaks down in terms of non-arbitration players and without other payments, essentially with the players signed to fully guaranteed contacts on the roster for 2025, with Yates now added to the mix.
Dodgers Player | Payroll Hit in 2025 | AAV with Deferrals |
|---|---|---|
Kirby Yates | Projected $14.5M | Projected $14.5M |
Shohei Ohtani | $70M | $46.078M |
Blake Snell | $36.4M | $31.357M |
Tyler Glasnow | $30M | $27.312M |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto | $14.166M | $27.083M |
Mookie Betts | $30.416M | $25.554M |
Freddie Freeman | $27M | $24.7M |
Teoscar Hernandez | $17.667M | $20.94M |
Tanner Scott | $18M | $18M (TBD) |
Michael Conforto | $17M | $17M |
Chris Taylor | $13M | $15M |
Tommy Edman | $8.4M | $13.04M |
Will Smith | $16M | $12.241M |
Max Muncy | $14.5M | $12M |
Blake Treinen | $8.5M | $11M |
Miguel Rojas | $5M | $5M |
Ryan Brasier | $4.5M | $4.5M |
Hyeseong Kim | $2.833M | $4.167M |
Austin Barnes | $3.5M | $3.5M |
So with the MLBTradeRumors projected contract from the start of the offseason with an AAV of $14.5 million, that would put the Dodgers luxury tax payroll of more than $385 million. That's just laughably large.
Last year, LA set a new high with a $103 million luxury tax payment owed at the 110% rate for every dollar over the highest $297 million threshold. That threshold moves to $301 million for the 2025 season but the Dodgers are clearing that by $84 million-plus and clearing the first $241 million CBT by a whopping $144 million, which is what will be taxed at the 110% rate, which would come out to $158.4 million. They are also subject to the increasing tax rate, so the Dodgers could be taxed close to $200 million, if not more, for their 2025 payroll.
All of this and the willingness of ownership in Los Angeles to blow past these thresholds has some fans calling for a salary cap in MLB and other drastic measures. Who knows if that's what happens, especially considering the MLBPA likely has no problem with a team being willing to pay players consistently, but it feels more in the cards than ever.
And signing Yates only makes that more absurd with how much he adds to an already eye-popping payroll that the Dodgers are forking over to try and defend their World Series.
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