USA Today has released their 2016 salary database, giving us a look at the league minimum salaries for the rest of the players on the active roster. That is always the final thing needed for the 2016 40-man payroll page. I’ve updated the payroll page with the new numbers, and the Pirates will be entering the season with an estimated payroll of $102.1 M. Click the 40-man link to view the details. A few notes:
**The payroll doesn’t account for in-season moves. The Pirates have averaged about $8 M in additional payroll during the season, whether that comes from calling up new guys throughout the year, claiming players off waivers, or adding players via trade. Last year, they actually added $10 M in payroll during the season, taking on a lot of cash at the trade deadline. So you can expect their final number to be at least $110 M.
**The Opening Day payroll doesn’t include projected bonuses. I add those throughout the year when they’re reached.
**I use the 40-man payroll, rather than the 25-man. MLB teams use 40-man numbers, and when you see the official numbers come out at the end of the year, they’re always 40-man numbers. You might think that the minor league salaries drive up the payroll (or at least that’s the common argument). The total of all the minor league guys on the 40-man is $896,500. As the season goes on, a lot of those minor leaguers will be called up, at which point they’ll be making major league salaries. I always pro-rate the major league salaries when players don’t play a full season.
**On that same note, the payroll is currently inflated a bit due to guys who are called up for injuries. Elias Diaz is counted at $510,000, but won’t make that amount the entire season, as he will eventually come off the DL and go back down to the minors. Kyle Lobstein will return to the minors when Jared Hughes gets off the DL. Someone like Cole Figueroa will go down when Jung-ho Kang returns. This is just a snapshot of the current projection.
**The payroll page is updated whenever a move is made. It also keeps track of option years, service time and contract situations. Keep the page bookmarked throughout the year, or find it under the “Rosters” tab at the top of the page. If you want to see long-term contract information, check out the Future Payroll page.
