Initial Estimate for the Pirates 2024 Opening Day Payroll

With the offseason getting underway, a look at how the 2024 payroll could go for the Pirates.

Photo Credit: Ryan Palencer

Sorry everyone, I thought I had enough time before any transactions would be announced, but this was submitted before the Pirates made several moves Thursday evening. I’m keeping it unchanged, because it still represents the absolute starting point for the offseason.

The offseason is getting ready to kick into high gear, which means Pittsburgh Pirate fans everywhere will wonder just how much payroll is and how much space there is for offseason moves. The only problem is there’s nary a reliable resource for that.

That’s where this comes in.

This works on the assumption that the team will do nothing over the offseason—no trades, no extensions, no free agent signings—just go with the status quo and only use in-house options.

Of course, this isn’t realistic; however, I feel it’s an appropriate way to start the offseason projection. There’s no way of knowing what moves the team will make, so creating a baseline with all internal players shows basically where the team would be at the absolute minimum and adjusting from there every time a move is made from here on out.

Guaranteed Salaries*: $22,000,000

There are only two players—well, kind of—to speak of here. Bryan Reynolds’ extension kicks in now, with his salary going up to $10 million—the highest on the team. Ke’Bryan Hayes was at that level last season, but his deal started with two years of higher salaries, after which they go down to $7 million for four years, which puts this figure on par with last offseason’s starting point.

I typically don’t like to do this, but the return of Andrew McCutchen seems like such a foregone conclusion that it feels like a safe bet to include him here.

I slated him for a repeat $5 million salary, which can be adjusted as needed.

Arbitration Salaries: $16,280,000

The Pirates have a six-player arbitration class, but I non-tendered Miguel Andújar, leaving the other five on the roster to start the season—well, JT Brubaker would start on the injured list, but you know what I mean.

When payroll estimates start to come out nationally, these are what will be reported as if the team is going to start the season with eight players and a $35,480,000 payroll.

Don’t believe them; you’re smarter than that.

Pre-arbitration Salaries: $15,170,000

The rest of the roster was filled with minimum salaries to get to 26 spots.

Last season, the Pirates treated minimum salaries like they did in 2022—paying players in certain service buckets the same across the board: $725,000 for less than one year of service, $735,000 for between one and two, and $745,000 for between two and three.

I used the same practice for 2024, finding how much each level was above the minimum percentage-wise and applying that to the new minimum for 2024 ($740,000). I came up with $745,000, $755,000, and $765,000.

I applied this process to 19 of the 20 minimum players on the roster—Alfonso Rivas made $850,000 last season—with Tucupita Marcano opening the season on the 60-day IL, thus an additional salary on the ledger to start the season.

Minor League Salary: $2,227,852

For the most part, players assigned to the minors make a lower rate than they would otherwise while in the majors.

The minimums for 2024 are $120,600 for players on second contracts or with prior major league service and $60,300 for players on their first contracts. Some players make more depending on what they made the prior season.

This accounts for 14 players, with Ji Hwan Bae ($362,500) and Dauri Moreta ($320,965) the highest splits on the list, inflating the total slightly.

Signing Bonuses: $250,000

As I explained in the 2023 payroll recap, Reynolds’ signing bonus will be prorated over the guaranteed life of his deal, leaving the same amount for the next seven years.

2024 Payroll Projection: $55,927,852

I have all my spreadsheets updated, and you can follow along here as I update them throughout the offseason.