It’s been more than three weeks since we last looked at the Dodgers’ estimated payroll for 2025, and in that time the club has been busy. They shored up the back end of the bullpen by adding Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates.
Scott signed for a guaranteed $72 million over four years, but the $21 million in deferred salary decreases the average annual value for competitive balance tax purposes from $18 million to about $15.4 million. Yates’ deal was more straightforward, earning $13 million for his one season.
Roki Sasaki was also added, but his $6.5 million signing bonus doesn’t count against the payroll total. His major league salary — likely at or near the minimum of $760,000 — once he makes the team will count as part of the payroll.
With Scott and Yates signed, the Dodgers bullpen depth chart got crowded, so reliever Ryan Brasier was traded to the Cubs. The Dodgers sent cash in that deal to pay some of Brasier’s $4.5 million salary, but the amount hasn’t yet been reported so it’s not included in our estimates here, yet.
Another payroll loose end was the Dodgers avoiding a salary arbitration hearing with Alex Vesia, who signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2026. For competitive balance tax purposes, it’s a $2.3 million deal over one year.
In all, the Dodgers have 25 players under contract for 2025. One of them, Brusdar Graterol, will start the season on the injured list after shoulder surgery in November.
Here’s a summary of the Dodgers 2025 payroll, which at the moment is estimated at roughly $373.8 million for competitive balance tax purposes.
Dodgers 2025 estimated competitive balance tax payroll
| Player | Pos | Actual payroll | CBT payroll | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Actual payroll | CBT payroll | Notes |
| Shohei Ohtani | DH/P | $2,000,000 | $46,076,769 | 2nd yr of 10-yr deal |
| Blake Snell | SP | $64,800,000 | $31,357,257 | 1st yr of 5-yr deal |
| Tyler Glasnow | SP | $30,000,000 | $27,312,500 | 2nd yr of 5-yr deal |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | SP | $10,000,000 | $27,083,333 | 2nd yr of 12-yr deal |
| Mookie Betts | IF/OF | $22,000,000 | $25,554,824 | 5th yr of 12-yr deal |
| Freddie Freeman | 1B | $15,000,000 | $24,699,249 | 4th yr of 6-yr deal |
| Teoscar Hernández | OF | $25,500,000 | $19,366,667 | 1st yr of 3-yr deal |
| Michael Conforto | OF | $17,000,000 | $17,000,000 | 1-year deal |
| Tanner Scott | LHP | $10,750,000 | $15,419,530 | 1st yr of 4-year deal |
| Chris Taylor | IF/OF | $13,000,000 | $15,000,000 | 4th yr of 4-yr deal |
| Tommy Edman | IF/OF | $22,000,000 | $13,040,190 | 1st yr of 5-yr deal |
| Kirby Yates | RHP | $13,000,000 | $13,000,000 | 1-year deal |
| Will Smith | C | $23,000,000 | $12,241,285 | 2nd yr of 10-yr deal |
| Max Muncy | 3B | $12,000,000 | $12,000,000 | 2nd yr of 2-yr deal |
| Blake Treinen | RHP | $11,000,000 | $11,000,000 | 1st yr of 2-yr deal |
| Evan Phillips | RHP | $6,100,000 | $6,100,000 | 1-year deal |
| Tony Gonsolin | SP | $5,400,000 | $5,325,000 | 1-year deal |
| Michael Kopech | RHP | $5,200,000 | $5,200,000 | 1-year deal |
| Miguel Rojas | IF | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | option exercised |
| Hyeseong Kim | IF | $3,500,000 | $4,166,667 | 1st yr of 3-yr deal |
| Austin Barnes | C | $3,500,000 | $3,500,000 | option exercised |
| Alex Vesia | LHP | $2,250,000 | $2,300,000 | 1-year +option |
| Dustin May | SP | $2,135,000 | $2,135,000 | 1-year deal |
| Anthony Banda | LHP | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | 1-year deal |
| Brusdar Graterol (IL) | RHP | $2,800,000 | $2,800,000 | 1-year deal |
| Gavin Stone (IL) | SP | $800,000 | $800,000 | team control |
| Emmet Sheehan (IL) | SP | $800,000 | $800,000 | team control |
| River Ryan (IL) | SP | $800,000 | $800,000 | team control |
| Remaining 2 active spots | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | 2025 minimum is $760k | |
| Minor league salaries | $2,500,000 | MiLBers on 40-man roster | ||
| Pre-arbitration pool | $1,666,667 | $50m split by 30 teams | ||
| Team benefit costs | $18,000,000 | 2024 was $17,028,816 | ||
| Totals | $331,935,000 | $373,844,937 |
This will without knowing what money the Dodgers sent to the Cubs in the Brasier deal. Plus, the Dodgers will sign Clayton Kershaw at some point after spring training opens (when the Dodgers can utilize the 60-day injured list to create more space on the 40-man roster). And with only 15 position players on the roster, the club will likely add there as well, perhaps especially since the door for a potential Kiké Hernández reunion remains open.
Last year the Dodgers paid an MLB-record $103 million in competitive balance tax, with a $353 million payroll for CBT purposes. The highest CBT payroll on record to date is the Mets in 2023 at $374.68 million, which the Dodgers are expected to surpass this year.
The first competitive balance tax threshold this year is $241 million, with three more tiers at progressively higher tax rates. Anything over $301 million, the Dodgers — as a repeat tax payer for at least three years in a row — are charged a tax of 110 percent. With the current estimated payroll of $373.8 million, they’d pay roughly $121.5 million in tax alone.
MLB’s first $500 million payroll (including the tax) seems inevitable this year.
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