Atlanta Braves post trade deadline payroll: Financial flexibility pays off

Other salaries

Those figures cover the payroll reported to MLB at tax time, but the Atlanta Braves have other expenses. They paid signing bonuses for newly drafted prospects, and pay the salary for players on their minor league teams here and in the Dominican Summer League.

This year the Atlanta Braves paid $13,373,000 in signing bonuses or about 9.8% of total payroll expense.

Payrolls for minor league teams aren’t released, but we do know the minimums. Monthly salaries are

• $1,150 for the short season teams,
• $1,300 for low A and $1,500 for high A.
  • For players repeating a year at the same level, the salary increases $50 each year.
• The  AA monthly salary is $1,700
  • Increasing $100 per month for subsequent years.
• The AAA monthly salary is $2,150
  • 2,400 the second year, and
  • $2,700 the third year.

Some players who return year after year as career minor leaguers earn more than the minimums, so an additional $200,000 for player play isn’t off the mark and is probably low.

That’s a wrap

When we talk about player payroll, most look at in terms of the $25-man roster without considering other bits and pieces that teams pay to get through the year.

Retained salary – dead money – became a topic during the rebuild.

The Atlanta Braves hold roughly $11.5M in dead money right now, a significant drop from the last four years.

If the season ended today, the team would finish about $56M under the competitive balance tax threshold, and still be at least a division champion.

Like many of you, I wanted the Braves to do more last offseason and at the deadline. In the end, the team’s leading the NL East, and of course for postseason play with being involved in the NL version of the annual Bud Selig death-match, and that’s a good thing.