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MLB
St. Louis Cardinals 2026 Financial Summary
A current summary of St. Louis Cardinals 2026 player cap & cash figures.
RELATED:
MLB 2027 Contract Options Watchlist
Summary
- Adjusted Payroll Total $93,830,442 / 25th
- Cash Total $111,530,440 / 24th
2026 Active Roster
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Dustin May
(SP, 28)
|
$12,500,000 |
| 2 |
JoJo Romero
(RP, 29)
|
$4,260,000 |
| 3 |
Andre Pallante
(SP, 27)
|
$4,000,000 |
| 4 |
Ryne Stanek
(RP, 34)
|
$3,500,000 |
| 5 |
Alec Burleson
(1B, 27)
|
$3,300,000 |
| 6 |
Nolan Gorman
(3B, 26)
|
$2,655,000 |
| 7 |
Matthew Liberatore
(SP, 26)
|
$2,260,000 |
| 8 |
Justin Bruihl
(RP, 29)
|
$850,000 |
| 9 |
Yohel Pozo
(C, 29)
|
$800,000 |
| 10 |
Masyn Winn
(SS, 24)
|
$799,450 |
| 11 |
Jordan Walker
(RF, 24)
|
$799,400 |
| 12 |
Iván Herrera
(C, 26)
|
$798,800 |
| 13 |
Pedro Pages
(C, 27)
|
$796,900 |
| 14 |
Kyle Leahy
(SP, 29)
|
$795,600 |
| 15 |
Riley O'Brien
(RP, 31)
|
$795,050 |
| 16 |
George Soriano
(RP, 27)
|
$793,350 |
| 17 |
Victor Scott II
(CF, 25)
|
$792,750 |
| 18 |
Jose Fermin
(2B, 27)
|
$792,350 |
| 19 |
Matt Svanson
(RP, 27)
|
$785,800 |
| 20 |
Michael McGreevy
(SP, 25)
|
$784,550 |
| 21 |
Thomas Saggese
(SS, 24)
|
$783,060 |
| 22 |
Nathan Church
(LF, 25)
|
$782,150 |
| 23 |
Matt Pushard
(RP, 28)
|
$780,000 |
| 24 |
JJ Wetherholt
(2B, 23)
|
$780,000 |
| 25 |
Gordon Graceffo
(RP, 26)
|
$755,182 |
| 26 |
César Prieto
(2B, 27)
|
$608,966 |
2026 Injured List
Salaries from players who have been placed on the injured list, still counting against the payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Lars Nootbaar
(LF, 28)
|
$5,250,000 |
| 2 |
Ramon Urias
(2B, 32)
|
$2,000,000 |
2026 Retained
Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Nolan Arenado
(3B, 35)
|
$30,166,668 |
| 2 |
Sonny Gray
(SP, 36)
|
$5,400,964 |
| 3 |
Willson Contreras
(1B, 34)
|
$750,000 |
2026 Deferred
Salaries for players who had salaries deferred to the current year. We are NOT counting these against the active payroll.
| RK | Player |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Nolan Arenado
(3B, 35)
|
$0 |
| 2 |
Matt Holliday
(OF, 46)
|
$0 |
| 3 |
Adam Wainwright
(SP, 44)
|
$0 |
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 | $47,348,358 | 29th |
| Injured Contracts | $7,250,000 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $36,317,632 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor League Contracts | $2,700,000 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $110,814,740 | - |
|
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 |
Jared Shuster
(RP, 27)
|
$105,240 |
| 2 |
Ryan Fernandez
(RP, 28)
|
$72,097 |
| 3 |
Chris Roycroft
(RP, 29)
|
$50,535 |
| 4 |
Hunter Dobbins
(SP, 26)
|
$4,212 |
| 5 |
Tink Hence
(SP, 23)
|
$0 |
| 6 |
Tekoah Roby
(SP, 24)
|
$0 |
| 7 |
Leonardo Bernal
(C, 22)
|
$0 |
| 8 |
Joshua Baez
(OF, 23)
|
$0 |
| 9 |
Richard Fitts
(SP, 26)
|
$0 |
| 10 |
Cooper Hjerpe
(SP, 25)
|
$0 |
| 11 |
Brycen Mautz
(SP, 24)
|
$0 |
| 12 |
Jimmy Crooks III
(C, 24)
|
$0 |
| 13 |
Bryan Torres
(2B, 28)
|
$0 |
| 14 |
Cade Winquest
(RP, 26)
|
$0 |
