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MLB
Cleveland Guardians 2026 Luxury Tax Payroll
The Cleveland Guardians 2026 tax salary table, including team tax space, and complete breakdowns of player tax salaries and bonuses.
Projected Total Tax
$94,747,768 / 29th
Est. Tax Bill
$0
2026 Active Roster
| Player (40) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ramírez
1 José Ramírez
|
3B | 11.074 | n/a |
Extension
|
$22,306,000 | 9.14% |
|
Bibee
2 Tanner Bibee
|
SP | 3.000 | 3 |
Extension
Pre-Arbitration |
$9,600,000 | 3.93% |
|
Kwan
3 Steven Kwan
|
LF | 4.000 | 3 |
Arbitration 2
|
$7,725,000 | 3.17% |
|
Armstrong
4 Shawn Armstrong
|
RP | 7.113 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$5,500,000 | 2.25% |
|
Hedges
5 Austin Hedges
|
C | 9.166 | n/a |
Extension
Pending Free Agent |
$4,000,000 | 1.64% |
|
Jones
6 Nolan Jones
|
RF | 3.007 |
Arbitration 1
|
$2,000,000 | 0.82% | |
|
Holderman
7 Colin Holderman
|
RP | 3.120 | 3 |
Free Agent
|
$1,500,000 | 0.61% |
|
Fry
8 David Fry
|
C | 2.154 | 3 |
Arbitration 1
Super Two |
$1,375,000 | 0.56% |
|
Festa
9 Matt Festa
|
RP | 2.153 |
Arbitration 1
Super Two |
$1,000,000 | 0.41% | |
|
Brogdon
10 Connor Brogdon
|
RP | 4.090 |
Free Agent
|
$900,000 | 0.37% | |
|
Rodriguez
11 Johnathan Rodriguez
|
OF | 0.097 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Valera
12 George Valera
|
RF | 0.028 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Rocchio
13 Brayan Rocchio
|
SS | 2.001 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Naylor
14 Bo Naylor
|
C | 2.113 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Schneemann
15 Daniel Schneemann
|
SS | 1.120 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Herrin
16 Tim Herrin
|
RP | 2.058 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Sabrowski
17 Erik Sabrowski
|
RP | 1.033 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Martinez
18 Angel Martinez
|
CF | 1.118 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Espino
19 Daniel Espino
|
SP | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Gaddis
20 Hunter Gaddis
|
RP | 2.073 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Cecconi
21 Slade Cecconi
|
SP | 1.155 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Allen
22 Logan Allen
|
SP | 2.093 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Halpin
23 Petey Halpin
|
OF | 0.009 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Smith
24 Cade Smith
|
RP | 2.000 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Arias
25 Gabriel Arias
|
2B | 2.124 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Genao
26 Angel Genao
|
SS | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Watson
27 Khalil Watson
|
SS | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Williams
28 Gavin Williams
|
SP | 2.103 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Nikhazy
29 Doug Nikhazy
|
SP | 0.004 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Manzardo
30 Kyle Manzardo
|
DH | 1.073 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Aleman
31 Franco Aleman
|
RP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
DeLauter
32 Chase DeLauter
|
RF | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Pallette
33 Peyton Pallette
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Messick
34 Parker Messick
|
SP | 0.040 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Peterson
35 Austin Peterson
|
P | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Walters
36 Andrew Walters
|
RP | 0.142 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Cantillo
37 Joey Cantillo
|
SP | 0.162 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Brito
38 Juan Brito
|
SS | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Kayfus
39 C.J. Kayfus
|
1B | 0.058 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Gómez
40 Yorman Gómez
|
P | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
2026 Retained
Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.
| Player (2) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bieber
1 Shane Bieber
|
SP | 7.097 | n/a |
Retained
|
$1,555,102 | |
|
Straw
2 Myles Straw
|
CF | 5.125 | 2 |
Retained
|
$1,000,000 |
2026 Minor
Salaries from players currently in the system. denotes a buried salary that counts against the payroll.
| Player (1) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stephan
1 Trevor Stephan
|
RP | 4.000 | 3 |
Extension
Pre-Arbitration |
$3,500,000 |
2026 Luxury Tax Payroll Totals
Tax figures based on payroll data only. Outside revenue sources will be adjusted when available after the regular season.
| Competitive Balance Tax Threshold | $244,000,000 | |
| Guaranteed Contracts | $55,906,000 | 27th |
| Projected Pre-Arbitration Contracts | $13,120,000 | - |
| Injured Contracts | $0 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $2,555,102 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor Buried League Contracts | $3,500,000 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $94,747,768 | - |
| Projected Competitive Balance Tax Space | $149,252,232 | - |
|
Projected Tax Bill
This team is currently a tax repeater at 20%.
|
$0 | - |
|
Total Allocations
This team is the combined value of projected tax payroll allocations plus the projected tax bill.
|
$94,747,768 | - |
Glossary
First-Time Payor:
- 20% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 32% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 62.5% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 80% for exceeding by $60M+
Second-Time Payor:
- 30% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 42% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 75% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 90% for exceeding by $60M+
Third-Time (or more) Payor:
- 50% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 62% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 95% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 110% for exceeding by $60M+
Teams are considered “tax repeaters” when they exceed the threshold in consecutive seasons. They revert back to First-Time status after completing one season below the threshold.
Luxury Tax salaries are based on the Average Annual Value of all 40-man roster contracts, guaranteed contracts on the 60-day IL, retained salary from trades or releases, buried contracts in the minor leagues, a player benefits stipend, and the required pre-arbitration bonus pool contribution.
Players who are acquired or have contracts purchased during the season are calculated at a rate based on the amount of league days remaining in the season. If multiple years remain on the contract at the time of acquisition, the AAV is recalculated based on the total guaranteed money remaining.
Pre-Arbitration Players (0-3 years of service) are currently estimated at $820,000 ($40k above the $780,000 MLB minimum) Arbitration Salaries (3-6 years of service) are currently estimated based on the level of service (Arbitration 1-4), and Spotrac’s current Market Valuation for that player.
Player Benefits account for insurance, room & board stipends, transportation fees, etc…
The MLB Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool is a $50 million pot of money created in the 2022 CBA to reward top-performing young players (under three years of service time) who are not yet eligible for salary arbitration. It's funded by all 30 teams, split into award bonuses and a statistical pool based on a version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
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