Each offseason, the main focus of baseball fans is on trades and free agent activities. Naturally, Major League Baseball free agent signings caught most of the attention and caused the biggest buzz. There are usually good reasons for the big fanfare of minor league signers. They tend to be older veterans who want to expand their careers, or perhaps younger names, hope to rebound from injuries or disappointing performances before seasons (sometimes first seasons).
As spring training progresses, we see the rise in minor league signings. Free agents who linger in the market and feel their leverage in negotiations are beginning to acknowledge and accept unguaranteed agreements in order to camp in hopes of winning the roster.
The salary details of minor league signers are not as compelling as players who sign up for guaranteed major league deals. The Associated Press just released a list of free agent signings throughout the winter, including in salary details involving a handful of recent minor league signings. Many of the Associated Press’s salaries have been known and reflected in MLBTR, but the report does include the previous twenty-two unreported base salary for players in minor league trades. Here is a quick breakdown (the player salary link repoints to a previous MLBTR post detailing the minor league signing):
Bluebird: Jacob BarnesRHP, $1.4mm | Ryan YarbroughLHP, $2mm
brave: Curt CasaliC, $1.25mm | BuckenbergRHP, $1MM
Winemaker: Manuel Margot$1.3mm | Mark Kaha1B/o, $1.4mm
Bear: Brooks KriskeRHP, $900K | Travis Jankowski$1.25mm | Chris FlexenRHP, $1.5mm
Rattlesnake: Garrett Hampsoninf/of, $1.5mm | Scott McGoughRHP, $1.25mm
Dodgers: Luis GarciaRHP, $1.5mm
giant: Lou TrivinoRHP, $1.5mm
sailor: Shintaro FujinamiRHP, $1.3mm | Trevor GottRHP, $1.35mm
PADRES: Yuli Gurriel1B, $1.35mm (1.35mm higher than originally reported)
Wanderer: Nick AhmedSS, $1.25mm | Jesse ChavezRHP, $1.25mm | David BuchananRHP, $1.375mm | Kevin pillar$1mm
Red Sox: Matt MooreLHP, $2mm
Royal: Luke MaileC, $2mm| Rose stripteaseRHP, $1.75mm
White socks: Brandon Druryinf/of, $2mm | Mike ClevingerRHP, $1.5mm
Some things are emphasized. First, this is obviously not a comprehensive list of minor league signings throughout the league – not even this is a comprehensive list of listed team non-lineup invitees to camp. Second, many of these payments have little impact on the team. After all, they can’t even guarantee that most salaries won’t have significant salary consequences even if the player makes the opening day roster and wins the full bonus of his minor league salary.
However, this is not comprehensive. For example, rangers are completely planning to stay under the 241mm luxury tax threshold. Currently, Rosterresource pays their luxury obligations for 235.7mm. Instead of assigning these innings to players in front of the notes, players who pay at league minimum (or thousands of dollars north) will move the Rangers’ CBT numbers forward . Even if they end up adding multiple NRIs to the actual roster, they won’t hit the tax line, but choosing a contract will further narrow the scope Chris Young’s resource president, Chris Young, will offer for mid-season deals.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox effectively sits at the tax threshold. Rosterresource has 241.4mm luxury considerations. Team President Sam Kennedy Say after signing the contract Alex Bregman He hopes his team will be a CBT salary in 2025. Sox may back down below that threshold when things stand, but choose Moore’s contract, Adam Ottavino (also $2mm) or another famous NRI will further express the willingness to return to luxury tax status for the first time since 2022.
For the Blue Jays, which currently has a 273.3mm CBT number, it may not be back to the tax line. However, the front desk may want to avoid reaching the 281mm tax obligation, as it is Toronto’s top pick in the 2026 draft and will be discarded by ten positions. Seasonal transactions will have more impact on their tax numbers than on Barnes, Yarbrough, Yarbrough, Eric Lauer There are others, but it mentions that the Blue Jays are about 8mm more than many clubs consider to be the most harmful effect of scattered into CBT waters.
