Club payroll of $145.7 million ranks 18th in MLB
The Detroit Tigers begin the 2025 baseball season with a payroll on track for $145.7 million for the 40 man roster, which would be the 18th highest of the 30 clubs in major league ball. The payroll for the 26 man opening day roster is on target for $137,769,333, according to Cots Contracts. One year ago, Detroit began the 2024 season with an opening day payroll of $97.7 million, or $101 million for the year end 40 man roster, so they have boosted payroll by some 45 percent in one year. It is their highest since the 2017 season.
A year ago, the Tigers had lost nine of their 10 largest salaries from the previous season, most notably Eduardo Rodriguez. During the course of the season, they shed five of their seven highest paid players who were under contracts that expired at season’s end. By the time the playoffs rolled around in October Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Mark Canha, Shelby Miller, and Andrew Chafin had all been traded. Gio Urshela was another player who was designated for assignment.
During the 2024-25 off season, the club brought back Flaherty at a substantial increase, along with Alex Cobb, Gleyber Torres, Tommy Kahnle and John Brebbia, which, along with a nice raise for Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, account for the bulk of the increase in payroll.
The Tigers also enter the 2025 campaign with a healthy dose of roster flexibility. Other than the veteran players who have six plus years of major league service time, the only Tiger who is out of options is Zach McKinstry. That could change if Jahmai Jones or Thomas Nido were to be called up to Detroit.
The Tigers had no players on their roster who were eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, and in fact, the only players who are due for free agency after the 2025 campaign are the aforementioned additions who were signed to one year contracts, plus Kenta Maeda who was signed to a two year deal prior to the ‘24 season. Note that Brebbia has a club option and Flaherty has a player option for the 2026 season, but the young core group has at least two more seasons under team control.
The 2027 free agent class will include Skubal, Casey Mize, and Jake Rogers. Each of them could celebrate their five year service time anniversary during the upcoming season, at which point they may decline being optioned. Barring a lengthy stint in the minors over the next two seasons, or a nice contract extension, they may test the waters of free agency during the 2026-27 offseason.
Following is a chart showing each player on the 40 man roster, with their position, age, service time, options remaining, salary, and contract status for 2025.
Source: #gid=1520401900″> Cot’s Contracts
Salaries
- The major league minimum salary is $760,000 for the 2025 season. That’s an increase of $20,000 from 2023, and there will be one more increase of $20,000 through the end of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2026.
- Cot’s calculates players with 0-3 years of experience who are not yet eligible for arbitration at a salary of $772,000, or $12,000 above the minimum. Roster Resource calculates that class at $800,000.
- Those numbers do not include any pre-arbitration performance bonuses, which seven Tigers earned for 2024, and are paid out of a $50 million MLB pool that is funded by all 30 teams.
- The Tigers have 25 players on the 40 man roster who will make near league minimum while in the majors, and minor league salary while optioned to the minors.
- The Tigers will have just two position players on optional assignment to the minor leagues- Ryan Kreidler and Jace Jung, and two more starting the season on injured reserve- Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling. The three pitchers on the 60 day IL do not count against the 40 man roster.
- If Andrew Chafin is called up to Detroit as expected, that will boost the major league payroll by $2.5 million, minus one salary near major league minimum. That will still be a bit less than the Twins. Chafin also has up to $1.5 million in incentives that he could collect.
Options
A player may be optioned in three seasons in his career without clearing waivers. Only one option is used per season, so once a player on the 40-man roster is sent down, they can be freely moved between the majors and minors (after the requisite 10-day waiting period) up to five times in a given season. A player must be on optional assignment for at least 20 days to be charged with an option year.
With only one of the returning group of players being out of options, the club will have plenty of roster flexibility throughout the season to move players up and down from the minor leagues. For the time being, the 40 man roster is full, subject to any final moves prior to opening day.
Players with at least five years of major league service time can’t be optioned without their consent. They are noted with “NA” in the options column above. Detroit has eight players who have reached the five year milestone.
There are eight Tigers who can not be sent to the minor leagues without clearing waivers. They are Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, Tommy Kahnle, Alex Cobb, Kenta Maeda, John Brebbia, and Andrew Chafin (if he is called up), plus McKinstry.
Players optioned this spring will not have their option counted until they remain in the minor leagues for 20 days. Those numbers will change shortly for those players unless they are called up to Detroit.
Outright Assignment
When a player is out of options, he must be taken off the 40-man roster and clear waivers before he can be sent outright to the minor leagues. A player who has been previously outrighted at any time in his career may decline the assignment and become a free agent immediately, or after the season if he is not returned to the 40 man roster.
For example, Jahmai Jones has not only used up his quota of options in his career, but he was also outrighted in 2024 by the New York Yankees, so he has the right to decline an outright assignment for the remainder of his career, either immediately or at the end of the season- the latter provided that he is not returned to the club’s 40 man roster.
A player who declines an outright assignment may lose any non guaranteed salary remaining on his contract.
Payroll
The median team payroll in major league baseball is between $152 and $160 million. That is slightly up from 2024. Opening Day salary figures do not include minor league salaries.
Detroit has the 18th highest projected payroll and ranks 19th in payroll for luxury tax purposes. The latter calculates the average annual value of contracts through their conclusion, and also includes all players on the 40 man roster.
Detroit’s payroll is a bit less than that of the Minnesota Twins, who come in at $149 million. All five teams in the AL Central division rank in the bottom half of MLB in payroll. The LA Dodgers have the highest payroll at $334.8 million, while the Miami Marlins have the lowest at just $69.8 million-projected for the year end 40 man roster.
The Tigers do not have any players with salaries guaranteed beyond the 2025 season, other than Baez, who is guaranteed at least $24 million per year through the 2027 season, and top prospect Colt Keith, who signed a long-term deal guaranteeing him $28.6 million through the first six years of his major league career. So the organization has tremendous payroll flexibility.
16 Detroit players could be eligible for arbitration following the 2025 season, provided they accrue enough major league service time.
With the recent group of free agents being signed to one year contracts, the Tigers are once again relying on their core group of young players to step up and lead the team back to the post season, just as they did after so many veteran players were traded away in July. They have the top ranked farm system according to MLB Pipeline, and many of those top prospects are just about ready to contribute at the major league level over the next two seasons.
