Washington Nationals 2026 Financial Summary

A current summary of Washington Nationals 2026 player cap & cash figures.

RELATED:
MLB 2027 Contract Options Watchlist

Summary

  • Adjusted Payroll Total $93,078,769 / 27th
  • Cash Total $110,058,997 / 25th

2026 Active Roster

Pre-Arbitration
Arbitration
Estimate
RK Player
1 Luis Garcia
(1B, 26)
$6,875,000
2 Keibert Ruiz
(C, 27)
$6,250,000
3 Foster Griffin
(SP, 30)
$5,500,000
4 CJ Abrams
(SS, 25)
$4,200,000
5 Zack Littell
(SP, 30)
$3,000,000
6 Jake Irvin
(SP, 29)
$2,800,000
7 Miles Mikolas
(SP, 37)
$2,250,000
8 Richard Lovelady
(RP, 30)
$876,996
9 Cade Cavalli
(SP, 27)
$870,000
10 James Wood
(LF, 23)
$806,900
11 Jacob Young
(CF, 26)
$794,200
12 Jorbit Vivas
(SS, 25)
$790,600
13 Daylen Lile
(RF, 23)
$786,000
14 Gus Varland
(RP, 29)
$785,450
15 Joey Wiemer
(CF, 27)
$785,200
16 Brad Lord
(RP, 26)
$785,200
17 José Tena
(SS, 25)
$784,400
18 Brady House
(3B, 23)
$783,200
19 Nasim Nunez
(2B, 25)
$783,100
20 Drew Millas
(C, 28)
$782,700
21 P.J. Poulin
(RP, 29)
$781,900
22 Curtis Mead
(3B, 25)
$763,316
23 Paxton Schultz
(RP, 28)
$752,400
24 Mitchell Parker
(RP, 26)
$727,910
25 Orlando Ribalta
(RP, 28)
$662,135
26 Andrew Alvarez
(RP, 27)
$567,256

2026 Injured List

Salaries from players who have been placed on the injured list, still counting against the payroll.

RK Player
1 Trevor Williams
(SP, 34)
$7,000,000
2 Josiah Gray
(SP, 28)
$1,350,000
3 Max Kranick
(RP, 28)
$1,000,000
4 Ken Waldichuk
(RP, 28)
$825,000
5 Clayton Beeter
(RP, 27)
$785,225
6 DJ Herz
(SP, 25)
$784,200
7 Cole Henry
(RP, 26)
$783,700

2026 Dead Money

Leftover salaries from players who have been traded or released, or buyouts for declined options.

RK Player
1 Jackson Rutledge
(RP, 27)
$4,171

2026 Retained

Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.

RK Player
1 Stephen Strasburg
(SP, 37)
$35,000,000

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 Max Scherzer
(SP, 41)
$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 $45,543,863 30th
Injured Contracts $12,528,125 -
Retained Contracts $35,000,000 -
Player Benefits $18,000,000 -
Minor Buried League Contracts $2,823,910 -
Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution $1,666,666 -
Projected Tax Payroll $115,566,735 -
Projected Tax Bill
This team is currently a tax repeater at 20%.
$0 -

Glossary

MLB Tax Rate Penalties

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.

MLB Tax Salaries

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 Shinnosuke Ogasawara
(RP, 28)
$1,750,000
2 Riley Adams
(C, 30)
$500,000
3 Cionel Perez
(RP, 30)
$396,240
4 Andre Granillo
(RP, 26)
$96,117
5 Zak Kent
(RP, 28)
$33,448
6 Andres Chaparro
(3B, 27)
$26,394
7 Julian Fernández
(RP, 30)
$17,540
8 Riley Cornelio
(SP, 26)
$4,171
9 Robert Hassell
(OF, 24)
$0
10 Harry Ford
(C, 23)
$0
11 Christian Franklin
(OF, 26)
$0
12 Dylan Crews
(RF, 24)
$0
13 Abimelec Ortiz
(1B, 24)
$0
14 Luis Perales
(SP, 23)
$0

TRANSACTIONS

May 15, 2026
Andrew Alvarez, RP

Recalled from the Minors by Washington (WSH)

May 14, 2026
Alex Young, RP

Signed a minor league contract with Washington (WSH)

May 14, 2026
Zak Kent, RP

Optioned to the Minors by Washington (WSH)

May 06, 2026
Andre Granillo, RP

Optioned to the Minors by Washington (WSH)

May 06, 2026
Zak Kent, RP

Recalled from the Minors by Washington (WSH)

Top