:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67183152/1208287961.jpg.0.jpg)
The Dodgers’ Opening Day payroll would have been just over $190 million if this were a full season. As it stands, the total was $79 million. The 60-game season equates to 37% of a full year, and salaries are pro-rated accordingly, with some quirks.
I was waiting to post something on this until finding late-addition Terrance Gore’s 2020 salary. Thankfully, Ronald Blum at the Associated Press provided it on Monday ($650,000).
Clayton Kershaw is in the second year of a three-year, $93 million contract, but while it’s split evenly from 2019-21, $23 million of the contract was a signing bonus, with $7.67 million paid each year. That bonus isn’t pro-rated, but the remaining $23.33 million is (to $8.64 million), bringing Kershaw’s total for 2020 to just over $16.3 million.
That’s tops on the team this year, though in a full season Kershaw would rank second behind David Price, whose $32 million would have been pro-rated to $11.85 million, but he opted out. Had Price played this season, the full-year payroll would be $206 million and the pro-rated portion slightly more than $90 million.
Dodgers 2020 Opening Day payroll
| Pos | Player | Original 2020 | Signing bonus | 2020 salary | 60-g pro-rated | Bonus + salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | Original 2020 | Signing bonus | 2020 salary | 60-g pro-rated | Bonus + salary |
| IL | Clayton Kershaw | $31,000,000 | $7,666,667 | $23,333,333 | $8,641,975 | $16,308,642 |
| RF | Mookie Betts | $27,000,000 | $0 | $27,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| 3B | Justin Turner | $19,000,000 | $0 | $19,000,000 | $7,037,037 | $7,037,037 |
| CL | Kenley Jansen | $18,000,000 | $0 | $18,000,000 | $6,666,667 | $6,666,667 |
| 1B | Max Muncy | $5,500,000 | $4,500,000 | $1,000,000 | $370,370 | $4,870,370 |
| OF | A.J. Pollock | $12,000,000 | $0 | $12,000,000 | $4,444,444 | $4,444,444 |
| CF | Cody Bellinger | $11,500,000 | $0 | $11,500,000 | $4,259,259 | $4,259,259 |
| RHP | Blake Treinen | $10,000,000 | $0 | $10,000,000 | $3,703,704 | $3,703,704 |
| RHP | Joe Kelly | $8,500,000 | $0 | $8,500,000 | $3,148,148 | $3,148,148 |
| OF | Joc Pederson | $7,750,000 | $0 | $7,750,000 | $2,870,370 | $2,870,370 |
| SS | Corey Seager | $7,600,000 | $0 | $7,600,000 | $2,814,815 | $2,814,815 |
| IF/OF | Kiké Hernandez | $5,900,000 | $0 | $5,900,000 | $2,185,185 | $2,185,185 |
| IF/OF | Chris Taylor | $5,600,000 | $0 | $5,600,000 | $2,074,074 | $2,074,074 |
| SP | Ross Stripling | $2,100,000 | $1,500,000 | $600,000 | $222,222 | $1,722,222 |
| SP | Alex Wood | $4,000,000 | $0 | $4,000,000 | $1,481,481 | $1,481,481 |
| RHP | Pedro Baez | $4,000,000 | $0 | $4,000,000 | $1,481,481 | $1,481,481 |
| C | Austin Barnes | $1,100,000 | $0 | $1,100,000 | $407,407 | $407,407 |
| SP | Julio Urias | $1,000,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 | $370,370 | $370,370 |
| LHP | Scott Alexander | $875,000 | $0 | $875,000 | $324,074 | $324,074 |
| 45IL | Jimmy Nelson | $750,000 | $0 | $750,000 | $277,778 | $277,778 |
| OF | Terrance Gore | $650,000 | $0 | $650,000 | $240,741 | $240,741 |
| SP | Walker Buehler | $603,500 | $0 | $603,500 | $223,519 | $223,519 |
| RHP | Dylan Floro | $593,500 | $0 | $593,500 | $219,815 | $219,815 |
| LHP | Adam Kolarek | $583,500 | $0 | $583,500 | $216,111 | $216,111 |
| LHP | Caleb Ferguson | $583,500 | $0 | $583,500 | $216,111 | $216,111 |
| C | Will Smith | $573,500 | $0 | $573,500 | $212,407 | $212,407 |
| 1B/OF | Matt Beaty | $573,500 | $0 | $573,500 | $212,407 | $212,407 |
| SP | Dustin May | $573,500 | $0 | $573,500 | $212,407 | $212,407 |
| RHP | Dennis Santana | $573,500 | $0 | $573,500 | $212,407 | $212,407 |
| 1B/3B | Edwin Rios | $566,000 | $0 | $566,000 | $209,630 | $209,630 |
| RHP | Brusdar Graterol | $566,000 | $0 | $566,000 | $209,630 | $209,630 |
| LHP | Jake McGee | $563,500 | $0 | $563,500 | $208,704 | $208,704 |
| Total active roster plus IL | $190,178,500 | $79,041,420 | ||||
| Dead money | Scott Kazmir | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $8,000,000 |
| Dead money | Kenta Maeda | $3,436,500 | $1,000,000 | $2,436,500 | $902,407 | $1,902,407 |
Scott Kazmir is the third-highest paid Dodger this year, with the $8 million deferred from his 2017 salary paid in 2020. Had the season progressed as originally scheduled, that $8 million would have ranked 10th on the team.
The Dodgers sent $1 million to the Twins as part of the Kenta Maeda trade and agreed to send up to $10 million more, $3 million split between 2020 and 2021, and up to $7 million to cover various contract incentives. On a pro-rated basis, the Dodgers will pay the Twins $902,407 plus the $1 million they already sent, with a potential for up to $2.59 million more in incentives.
I didn’t include Yasiel Sierra, who is not on the 40-man roster but has a $5.5 million salary this year. His salary doesn’t count against the competitive balance tax, but I’m not certain of the status of said contract this year since commissioner Rob Manfred suspended all minor league contracts during the pandemic.
Counting Sierra, Price, Maeda, and Kazmir, the Dodgers’ Opening Day payroll in a full 2020 season would have been roughly $221 million, up from $206 million in 2019.
Other Dodgers with signing bonuses this year include Max Muncy, who got a $4.5 million bonus as part of his three-year, $26 million contract in addition to his $1 million salary in 2020 (pro-rated to $370,370); and Ross Stripling, who got $1.5 million of his $2.1 million salary as a signing bonus, while the remaining $600,000 is pro-rated to $222,222 for the 60-game season.
Per Blum, the full-season league-wide average salary on Opening Day with the planned 26-player rosters would have been $4,386,553 this season, up 0.2 percent from 2019.