The Padres have been one of the quietest teams this winter, which is unusual since president AJ Preller is one of the most aggressive front office executives in the sport. The club’s inaction this winter has been largely fueled by significant coverage of salary restrictions, but last night the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reported that those constraints may not be as stringent as once believed . While the club were previously thought to be leaning towards lowering their 2025 wage bill to 2024 with the £169mm level they were running at, Acee have now reported that the club plan to carry a wage bill in the top 10 of the league this season.
San Diego’s payroll currently ranks ninth in the sport, according to Rosterresource, and while the Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, Giants and Angels have a few clubs outside the top 10, there are significant free agents said to be involved. market. like Alex Bregman,,,, Jack Flahertyand Pete Alonso Who would probably catapult them into the top ten if signed. Even so, it stands to reason that the Padres are at least unlikely to increase their payroll beyond its current levels, an idea that more or less confirms the club’s seemingly inability to increase its payroll without first making room. Budget elsewhere.
This isn’t necessarily exciting news for Padres fans, given the club’s clear needs at catcher, rotation, left field and DH. For Preller, the situation of trying to plug in without increasing the salary is a lot of holes, which leads to the Padres losing money on key pieces such as Luis Arraez,,,, dylan stopand Robert Suarez this winter. While trading any of these players would create another hole in the lineup, the return clip combined with the salary flexibility created by the salary could allow San Diego to get ahead of these moves as much as they shipped. Juan Soto to the Yankees last winter.
This leaves the club planning on making salary changes in the front office to replace the top 10 players in the game. At a time when the club was thought to be operating under a payroll-cutting mandate, it seemed as if the Padres would have to execute multiple trades to make temporary additions through free agency. However, it now appears that any dollars freed up by any trade they make can be reinvested directly back into the lineup. This should make it easier for a trade to turn into a net worth for the roster, like when a club is forced to rely solely on return packages for upgrades, and like a club overall to stop a deal. It may also make it possible to dump contracts Jake Cronenworth Even if they don’t get a sizeable return, the appeal to the front office is even greater because there’s roughly $11.3 million that can be earned in 2025 and then spent on more critical needs.
What remains unclear is whether the Padres are willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold this year for the first time since avoiding the tax last season. San Diego is currently at the initial $241MM threshold with projected salaries of approximately $243MM for CBT. Preller has shown a willingness to get creative in order to lower a player’s AAV for luxury tax purposes, and it’s conceivable that the Padres could find a sneaky way under the first threshold while maintaining similar or even identical ranges Payment is based on actual dollars spent. Expensive arbitration-level players like Ceasefire or Arraez are especially valuable if dodged under the luxury tax because their one-year salary completely violates the luxury tax, whereas even similarly priced free agents can sign more complex contracts. structure to provide additional swing room for San Diego.
