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MLB
Cleveland Guardians 2026 Financial Summary
A current summary of Cleveland Guardians 2026 player cap & cash figures.
RELATED:
MLB 2027 Contract Options Watchlist
Summary
- Adjusted Payroll Total $80,468,600 / 29th
- Cash Total $71,528,600 / 30th
2026 Active Roster
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
José Ramírez
(3B, 33)
|
$22,306,000 |
| 2 |
Tanner Bibee
(SP, 27)
|
$9,600,000 |
| 3 |
Steven Kwan
(LF, 28)
|
$7,725,000 |
| 4 |
Austin Hedges
(C, 33)
|
$4,000,000 |
| 5 |
Colin Holderman
(RP, 30)
|
$1,500,000 |
| 6 |
Rhys Hoskins
(1B, 33)
|
$1,500,000 |
| 7 |
David Fry
(C, 30)
|
$1,375,000 |
| 8 |
Matt Festa
(RP, 33)
|
$1,000,000 |
| 9 |
Cade Smith
(RP, 27)
|
$824,600 |
| 10 |
Gavin Williams
(SP, 26)
|
$822,200 |
| 11 |
Hunter Gaddis
(RP, 28)
|
$809,500 |
| 12 |
Tim Herrin
(RP, 29)
|
$801,200 |
| 13 |
Daniel Schneemann
(CF, 29)
|
$800,700 |
| 14 |
Kyle Manzardo
(1B, 25)
|
$798,300 |
| 15 |
Brayan Rocchio
(2B, 25)
|
$797,600 |
| 16 |
Joey Cantillo
(SP, 26)
|
$796,600 |
| 17 |
Slade Cecconi
(SP, 27)
|
$795,600 |
| 18 |
Erik Sabrowski
(RP, 28)
|
$791,600 |
| 19 |
Parker Messick
(SP, 25)
|
$788,400 |
| 20 |
Angel Martinez
(CF, 24)
|
$788,000 |
| 21 |
Chase DeLauter
(RF, 24)
|
$780,000 |
| 22 |
Peyton Pallette
(RP, 25)
|
$780,000 |
| 23 |
Travis Bazzana
(2B, 23)
|
$633,992 |
| 24 |
Codi Heuer
(RP, 29)
|
$622,727 |
| 25 |
Petey Halpin
(OF, 24)
|
$621,479 |
| 26 |
Patrick Bailey
(C, 27)
|
$610,812 |
2026 Injured List
Salaries from players who have been placed on the injured list, still counting against the payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Shawn Armstrong
(RP, 35)
|
$5,500,000 |
| 2 |
Gabriel Arias
(SS, 26)
|
$801,100 |
2026 Suspended/Restricted
Salaries from players who have been suspended/restricted, still counting against the payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Emmanuel Clase
(RP, 28)
|
$0 |
| 2 |
Luis Ortiz
(SP, 27)
|
$0 |
2026 Dead Money
Leftover salaries from players who have been traded or released, or buyouts for declined options.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Johnathan Rodriguez
(OF, 26)
|
$4,020 |
2026 Retained
Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Myles Straw
(CF, 31)
|
$-1,375,000 |
| 2 |
Shane Bieber
(SP, 31)
|
$-2,731,183 |
| 3 |
Andres Gimenez
(2B, 27)
|
$-4,085,714 |
2026 Luxury Tax Payroll Totals
Tax figures based on payroll data only. Outside revenue sources will be adjusted when available after the regular season.
| Competitive Balance Tax Threshold | $244,000,000 | |
| Guaranteed Contracts | $62,669,310 | 27th |
| Injured Contracts | $6,301,100 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $-8,191,897 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor Buried League Contracts | $7,280,170 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $87,729,369 | - |
|
Projected Tax Bill
This team is currently a tax repeater at 20%.
|
$0 | - |
Glossary
First-Time Payor:
- 20% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 32% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 62.5% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 80% for exceeding by $60M+
Second-Time Payor:
- 30% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 42% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 75% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 90% for exceeding by $60M+
Third-Time (or more) Payor:
- 50% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 62% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 95% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 110% for exceeding by $60M+
Teams are considered “tax repeaters” when they exceed the threshold in consecutive seasons. They revert back to First-Time status after completing one season below the threshold.
Luxury Tax salaries are based on the Average Annual Value of all 40-man roster contracts, guaranteed contracts on the 60-day IL, retained salary from trades or releases, buried contracts in the minor leagues, a player benefits stipend, and the required pre-arbitration bonus pool contribution.
Players who are acquired or have contracts purchased during the season are calculated at a rate based on the amount of league days remaining in the season. If multiple years remain on the contract at the time of acquisition, the AAV is recalculated based on the total guaranteed money remaining.
Pre-Arbitration Players (0-3 years of service) are currently estimated at $820,000 ($40k above the $780,000 MLB minimum) Arbitration Salaries (3-6 years of service) are currently estimated based on the level of service (Arbitration 1-4), and Spotrac’s current Market Valuation for that player.
Player Benefits account for insurance, room & board stipends, transportation fees, etc…
The MLB Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool is a $50 million pot of money created in the 2022 CBA to reward top-performing young players (under three years of service time) who are not yet eligible for salary arbitration. It's funded by all 30 teams, split into award bonuses and a statistical pool based on a version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
2026 Minor
Salaries from players currently in the system. denotes a buried salary that counts against the payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trevor Stephan
(RP, 30)
|
$3,500,000 |
| 2 |
Nolan Jones
(RF, 28)
|
$2,000,000 |
| 3 |
Connor Brogdon
(RP, 31)
|
$900,000 |
| 4 |
Andrew Walters
(RP, 25)
|
$225,720 |
| 5 |
Bo Naylor
(C, 26)
|
$202,906 |
| 6 |
George Valera
(RF, 25)
|
$154,660 |
| 7 |
Kolby Allard
(RP, 28)
|
$100,267 |
| 8 |
Juan Brito
(SS, 24)
|
$87,591 |
| 9 |
C.J. Kayfus
(1B, 24)
|
$83,786 |
| 10 |
Franco Aleman
(RP, 26)
|
$20,855 |
| 11 |
Logan Allen
(SP, 27)
|
$4,385 |
| 12 |
Daniel Espino
(SP, 25)
|
$0 |
| 13 |
Austin Peterson
(SP, 26)
|
$0 |
| 14 |
Yorman Gómez
(SP, 23)
|
$0 |
| 15 |
Angel Genao
(SS, 22)
|
$0 |
| 16 |
Khalil Watson
(OF, 23)
|
$0 |
