The Dodgers will likely set a record in 2013 for the largest opening day payroll in Major League Baseball history, but Thursday's salary figures will be but a drop in the bucket compared to the total team numbers. But thanks to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, we have the 2013 salary figures for the most relevant Dodgers with under three years of major league service time.
The major league minimum increased from $480,000 to $490,000 in 2013, but that number seems so small when considering that the Dodgers have 25 players under contract for at least $1.15 million this year, including one (Tony Gwynn Jr.) not even on the 40-man roster. Those 25 contract add up to $231.95 million, and that's before considering dead money plus the bid for Hyun-jin Ryu.
There will be a few pre-arbitration players who will make the Dodgers, and here are the salaries obtained by Hernandez on Thursday:
- Kenley Jansen (two years, 73 days of service time): $512,000
- Luis Cruz (one year, 76 days): $505,000
- Scott Elbert (two years, 69 days): $505,000
- Dee Gordon (one year, 89 days): $501,000
- Javy Guerra (one year, 137 days): $501,000
- Tim Federowicz (56 days): $491,000
- Alex Castellanos (41 days): $490,500
All of these are salaries for when the players are in the major leagues. They are on split contracts that earn them a smaller salary if in the minors. The minor league minimum for players on their second major league contract is $79,900.