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MLB
St. Louis Cardinals 2026 Luxury Tax Payroll
The St. Louis Cardinals 2026 tax salary table, including team tax space, and complete breakdowns of player tax salaries and bonuses.
Projected Total Tax
$125,267,221 / 22nd
Est. Tax Bill
$0
2026 Active Roster
| Player (30) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May
1 Dustin May
|
SP | 6.059 |
Free Agent
|
$12,500,000 | 5.12% | |
|
Nootbaar
2 Lars Nootbaar
|
LF | 4.076 | 2 |
Arbitration 2
|
$5,250,000 | 2.15% |
|
Romero
3 JoJo Romero
|
RP | 5.045 |
Arbitration 3
|
$4,260,000 | 1.75% | |
|
Pallante
4 Andre Pallante
|
SP | 3.145 | 1 |
Arbitration 2
Super Two |
$4,000,000 | 1.64% |
|
Stanek
5 Ryne Stanek
|
RP | 8.038 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$3,500,000 | 1.43% |
|
Burleson
6 Alec Burleson
|
1B | 3.029 | 3 |
Arbitration 1
|
$3,300,000 | 1.35% |
|
Gorman
7 Nolan Gorman
|
3B | 3.114 | 2 |
Arbitration 1
|
$2,655,000 | 1.09% |
|
Liberatore
8 Matthew Liberatore
|
SP | 2.144 | 1 |
Arbitration 1
Super Two |
$2,260,000 | 0.93% |
|
Urias
9 Ramon Urias
|
2B | 5.025 |
Free Agent
|
$2,000,000 | 0.82% | |
|
Herrera
10 Iván Herrera
|
C | 2.034 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
O'Brien
11 Riley O'Brien
|
RP | 1.129 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Leahy
12 Kyle Leahy
|
RP | 1.140 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Fernandez
13 Ryan Fernandez
|
RP | 1.090 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Pages
14 Pedro Pages
|
C | 1.166 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Walker
15 Jordan Walker
|
RF | 2.044 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Winn
16 Masyn Winn
|
SS | 2.045 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Saggese
17 Thomas Saggese
|
SS | 0.144 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
McGreevy
18 Michael McGreevy
|
SP | 0.091 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Graceffo
19 Gordon Graceffo
|
RP | 0.091 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Fitts
20 Richard Fitts
|
SP | 0.164 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Dobbins
21 Hunter Dobbins
|
SP | 0.152 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Svanson
22 Matt Svanson
|
RP | 0.116 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Bruihl
23 Justin Bruihl
|
RP | 1.112 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Fermin
24 Jose Fermin
|
2B | 1.075 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Soriano
25 George Soriano
|
RP | 1.095 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Scott II
26 Victor Scott II
|
CF | 1.083 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Church
27 Nathan Church
|
OF | 0.043 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Pushard
28 Matt Pushard
|
RP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Roycroft
29 Chris Roycroft
|
RP | 0.150 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Pozo
30 Yohel Pozo
|
C | 1.052 | 3 |
Free Agent
|
2026 Retained
Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.
| Player (3) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arenado
1 Nolan Arenado
|
3B | 12.155 | n/a |
Retained
|
$20,555,555 | |
|
Gray
2 Sonny Gray
|
SP | 12.061 | n/a |
Retained
|
$20,000,000 | |
|
Contreras
3 Willson Contreras
|
1B | 9.108 | n/a |
Retained
|
$4,000,000 |
2026 Minor
Salaries from players currently in the system. denotes a buried salary that counts against the payroll.
| Player (10) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Raquet
1 Nick Raquet
|
RP | 0.021 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Hence
2 Tink Hence
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Roby
3 Tekoah Roby
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Bernal
4 Leonardo Bernal
|
C | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Baez
5 Joshua Baez
|
OF | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Prieto
6 César Prieto
|
2B | 0.031 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Hjerpe
7 Cooper Hjerpe
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Mautz
8 Brycen Mautz
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Crooks III
9 Jimmy Crooks III
|
C | 0.031 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Torres
10 Bryan Torres
|
OF | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
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 | $39,725,000 | 28th |
| Projected Pre-Arbitration Contracts | $13,120,000 | - |
| Injured Contracts | $0 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $44,555,555 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor Buried League Contracts | $8,200,000 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $125,267,221 | - |
| Projected Competitive Balance Tax Space | $118,732,779 | - |
|
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.
|
$125,267,221 | - |
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).
