Houston Astros 2026 Luxury Tax Payroll

The Houston Astros 2026 tax salary table, including team tax space, and complete breakdowns of player tax salaries and bonuses.

SEASON
TEAM
 
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Projected Total Tax

$228,204,994 / 11th

Projected Tax Space

$15,795,006

Tax Status

50% / 3+-Time Payor

Est. Tax Bill

$0

2026 Active Roster

Estimate
Player (40) Pos Exp Options Minor Type Luxury Tax Luxury Tax % League CBT
Altuve
1
Jose Altuve
2B 14.072 n/a
Extension
$25,000,000 10.25%
Correa
2
Carlos Correa
3B 10.119 n/a
Free Agent
$21,176,661 8.68%
Walker
3
Christian Walker
1B 7.124 n/a
Free Agent
$20,000,000 8.20%
Alvarez
4
Yordan Alvarez
DH 6.113 n/a
Extension
Arbitration
$19,166,667 7.86%
Hader
5
Josh Hader
RP 8.115 n/a
Free Agent
$19,000,000 7.79%
Imai
6
Tatsuya Imai
P
Free Agent
Foreign Professional
$18,000,000 7.38%
McCullers
7
Lance McCullers
SP 10.140 n/a
Extension
$17,000,000 6.97%
Javier
8
Cristian Javier
SP 6.000 n/a
Extension
Arbitration
$12,800,000 5.25%
Pena
9
Jeremy Pena
SS 4.000 3
Arbitration 2
$9,475,000 3.88%
Paredes
10
Isaac Paredes
3B 4.160
Arbitration 3
$9,350,000 3.83%
Abreu
11
Bryan Abreu
RP 5.022
Arbitration 3
$5,850,000 2.40%
Brown
12
Hunter Brown
SP 3.035 3
Arbitration 1
$5,710,000 2.34%
Diaz
13
Yainer Diaz
C 3.035 3
Arbitration 1
$4,500,000 1.84%
Meyers
14
Jake Meyers
CF 4.044 2
Arbitration 2
$3,550,000 1.45%
Weiss
15
Ryan Weiss
P 2
Free Agent
$2,600,000 1.07%
Okert
16
Steven Okert
RP 5.089
Arbitration 3
$2,325,000 0.95%
De Los Santos
17
Enyel De Los Santos
RP 5.015
Arbitration 3
$1,600,000 0.66%
Allen
18
Nick Allen
SS 2.164
Arbitration 1
Super Two
$1,400,000 0.57%
Pearson
19
Nate Pearson
RP 4.042 1
Free Agent
$1,350,000 0.55%
Wesneski
20
Hayden Wesneski
SP 2.170 1
Arbitration 1
Super Two
$975,000 0.40%
Sousa
21
Bennett Sousa
RP 2.156 1
Arbitration 1
Super Two
$910,000 0.37%
Teng
22
Kai-Wei Teng
SP 1.022 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Salazar
23
César Salazar
C 1.077 1
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Burrows
24
Michael Burrows
SP 0.135 1
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Walter
25
Brandon Walter
SP 0.168 2
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
King
26
Bryan King
RP 1.100 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Murray
27
Jayden Murray
RP 0.026 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Whitcomb
28
Shay Whitcomb
SS 0.085 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Ullola
29
Miguel Ullola
P 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Arrighetti
30
Spencer Arrighetti
SP 2.000 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Loperfido
31
Joey Loperfido
OF 1.021 2
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Gordon
32
Colton Gordon
RP 0.112 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Blanco
33
Ronel Blanco
SP 2.101 1
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Alexander
34
Jason Alexander
RP 1.134 2
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Smith
35
Cam Smith
RF 1.000 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Blubaugh
36
A.J. Blubaugh
SP 0.038 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Cole Jr.
37
Zach Cole Jr.
OF 0.017 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Dezenzo
38
Zach Dezenzo
SS 1.055 2
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Munoz
39
Roddery Munoz
SP 0.123 1
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%
Matthews
40
Brice Matthews
SS 0.028 3
Pre-Arbitration
$820,000 0.34%

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
Trammell
1
Taylor Trammell
OF 2.144
Arbitration 1
Super Two
$900,000

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 $201,738,328 10th
Projected Pre-Arbitration Contracts $4,100,000 -
Injured Contracts $0 -
Retained Contracts $0 -
Player Benefits $18,000,000 -
Minor League Contracts $2,700,000 -
Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution $1,666,666 -
Projected Tax Payroll $228,204,994 -
Projected Competitive Balance Tax Space $15,795,006 -
Projected Tax Bill
This team is currently a tax repeater at 50%.
$0 -
Total Allocations
This team is the combined value of projected tax payroll allocations plus the projected tax bill.
$228,204,994 -

Glossary

MLB Tax Rate Penalties

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.

MLB Tax Salaries

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).

TRANSACTIONS

Feb 28, 2026
Frankelys Mendoza, P

Released by Houston (HOU)

Feb 18, 2026
C.J. Alexander, 3B

Signed a minor league contract with Houston (HOU)

Feb 15, 2026
Cavan Biggio, 2B

Signed a minor league contract with Houston (HOU)

Feb 13, 2026
Joey Loperfido, OF

Traded to Houston (HOU) from Toronto (TOR) for Jesús Sánchez

Feb 12, 2026
Angel Aybar, P

Released by Houston (HOU)

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