Atlanta Braves post trade deadline payroll: Financial flexibility pays off
By Fred Owens
Atlanta Braves opening day payroll
COTS shows an Atlanta Braves opening day 25-man roster plus injury list payroll total to $115,247,089.
The Braves are responsible for $381,048 owed to Sam Freeman after his release and COTS adds an estimate of $2,250,000 committed to 40-man roster players in the minor leagues, for a total of $117,878,137.
Cots omitted the $2,875.000 due to Adam Duvall and the $1,610,000 due to Dan Winkler from their computations, lumping them in with other minor league 40-man players.
Article VI paragraph A (1) and (2) of the latest CBA, sets minimum minor league salary for players who signed a major league contract at any time in the past.
Atlanta Braves
In 2019, the minimum for players who signed their first Major League contract is $43,500. For those who signed two or more Major League contracts, the minimum rises to $90,400.
Unless the player signs a split contract, teams pay players like Duvall and Winkler the face value of their contract, bringing the total 40-man payroll to $125,218,137.
Adding the Atlanta Braves $14,500,000 share of the player benefit package, total taxable payroll comes to $139,718,137.
We only know precisely how much the team is contractually responsible for twice a year; opening day and the day after the season ends. Total salary changes with most roster moves that involve minimum salary players and every time a player is released or traded.
Atlanta Braves post-deadline payroll
Minor League Players on the 40-man roster receive a prorated amount of their contract for each day of Major League service.
When a player comes to the majors, payroll adjusts as if he’ll remain there for the rest of the year. When he goes down the clock stops for major league pay and starts back when (if) he returns.
Huascar Ynoa’s contract pays the Major League minimum ($555K). The Braves called him up and sent him back on a couple of occasions, and to date, his impact on team payroll amounts to $11,936.
Austin Riley’s contract also pays $555K for a season, and he’s remained with the team after his call-up. Until (if) he’s sent down, his salary shows $411,792 through the end of the season. The table shows the estimated daily pay amount for each contract level value in the system.
| Contract face | per day pay |
| 555,000 | $2,984 |
| 565,000 | $3,038 |
| 575,000 | $3,091 |
| 585,000 | $3,145 |
| 850,000 | $4,570 |
| 900,000 | $4,839 |
The money already paid on contracts no longer held by the Atlanta Braves counts toward the annual payroll reported to MLB when they file the competitive balance tax form. As I write this, the Braves payroll looks like this.
| Adjusted Value | Contract Value* | |
| Active roster | $108,754,807 | $140,891,043 |
| Injury list | $13,912,080 | $14,170,000 |
| Minor League payroll | $1,488,284 | $6,165,000 |
| Retained salary | $11,545,828 | $11,545,828 |
| Total payroll | $135,700,999 | $172,771,871 |
| Player benefits estimate | $14,500,000 | |
| Comp Bal Taxable Amt | $150,200,999 |
*Contract value = contracts total + signing bonuses and cash considerations
All salary and retained salary information comes from COTS or Spotrac and are estimates based on reported contract values.