Over the last two days I’ve put out different versions of the 2026 Phillies, one where Kyle Schwarber comes back and two where he doesn’t. In both situations I used a $304m budget, leaving around $46-$48m to spend this season. I have received a surprising amount of pushback for this. It hasn’t been the transactions people are questioning, but rather the amount we have to spend. Despite what you may have heard, it is not closer to $75m (I wish it were), and here’s why…
Players under contract: $179.4m (9)
- Zack Wheeler – $42m
- Trea Turner – $27.3m
- Bryce Harper – $25.4m
- Aaron Nola – $24.6m
- Nick Castellanos – $20m
- Taijuan Walker – $18m
- Jose Alvarado – $9m
- Matt Strahm – $7.5m
- Cristopher Sanchez – $5.6m
Arbitration Estimates: $49.5m (9)1
- Jesus Luzardo – $12m
- Alec Bohm – $10.3
- Jhoan Duran – $8m
- Brandon Marsh – $5.5m
- Bryson Stott – $5.5m
- Edmundo Sosa – $5m
- Tanner Banks – $1.3m
- Rafael Marchan – $1m
- Garrett Stubbs – $.9m
Pre-Arbitration Players: $6.6m (8)
- The league minimum is set at $820,000
- 18 players accounted for above leaving 8 open roster spots
Sub-Total: $235.5m
If this were the end of the tax calculation, that would be fantastic. It isn’t. This is just the salaries. Here is where I think the misunderstanding comes in.
Miscellaneous: $22.3m
- Player Benefits – $18m
- MLB estimates player benefits to be around this figure. It goes up $500k each season. It is part of the equation
- Rookie Pool – $1.6m
- Instituted recently, this goes to paying the rookie bonuses for awards
- Minor League Salary – $2.7m
- Minor leaguers don’t make much, but those in the system have to be accounted for. This does not include rookie signing bonuses or international money which come from different pools of money
Real Total for Tax Purposes: $257.8m
The Phillies spent right up to the tax line last year. The number is up $3m this year to $304m. Though we eventually went over, it was not part of the offseason budget. Phillies ownership has only shown the inclination to blow this budget in special cases, most notably for Yoshinobu Yamamoto 2 years ago. That situation could present itself again this winter with the influx of Japanese talent on the market.
There are ways to add space to the budget like trades or certain cuts. The 9 players under contract have guaranteed salaries. Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker can be traded, but simply cutting them does not free up any space unless they agree to take less in a contract buyout. That won’t be much. Arbitration players do not have guaranteed contracts. If the Phillies cut Alec Bohm, that salary comes off the ledger (but add another minimum deal as a place holder).
I hope this helps navigate the next few months of the offseason in terms of what the Phillies can and cannot do.
- Estimates are from Spotrac, except for Sosa who is not getting $7.5m. MLBTraderumors has the Phillies at $45.6m ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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