The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off the perfect day on Thursday. With six players eligible for arbitration heading into the 1:00 p.m. ET filing deadline, the team went 6-for-6, settling on a 2025 contract with each player and avoiding the arbitration process entirely.
Third baseman Alec Bohm ($7.7 million), left-handers Jesús Luzardo ($6.225 million) and Ranger Suárez ($8.8 million), outfielder Brandon Marsh ($3 million), reserve infielder Edmundo Sosa ($3 million) and second baseman Bryson Stott ($3.2 million) all agreed to contracts for the 2025 season. Combined with right-handed reliever José Ruiz ($1.225 million) and backup catcher Garrett Stubbs ($925K), who each settled earlier this offseason, the Phillies will avoid any arbitration drama this winter.
Breaking down the Phillies' 2025 projected payroll
So now that most of the Phillies' 2025 salaries are set, where do they stand in payroll for this season? FanGraphs estimates the 2025 payroll to come in at $288 million. That's purely player salaries (plus Whit Merrifield's $1 million buyout) and isn't the number used for luxury tax purposes. We'll get to that in a bit.
The 14 players with guaranteed salaries make up the bulk of the payroll, with $243 million allotted to that group. The highest earner is ace Zack Wheeler, who will earn $42 million in each of the next three seasons. The eight players who settled on contracts to avoid arbitration account for $34 million.
There are also three notable players who still don't yet have contracts for 2025. Left-hander Tanner Banks, right-hander Orion Kerkering and outfielder Johan Rojas are all still in pre-arbitration contract status, meaning that they can negotiate their next contract, but the team can also just decide to set their salary if they can't come to an agreement. FanGraphs' estimate for these players and other players with non-guaranteed contracts is $9.12 million.
What is the Phillies' luxury tax status?
Combining the player salaries with other miscellaneous payroll expenses, like estimated salaries for minor league 40-man roster players ($2.5 million), estimated player benefits ($17.5 million) and a contribution to the pre-arbitration bonus pool ($1.67 million) the Phillies' estimated 2025 luxury tax payroll totals $307.56 million, according to FanGraphs.
That puts them over the fourth luxury tax threshold of $301 million. The implication is that the Phillies will have a 110 percent tax surcharge applied to all overages this year. They will be hit with a 50 percent charge for exceeding the base threshold ($241 million this year) for three or more years, plus an extra 60 percent surcharge for exceeding the base threshold by more than $60 million.
With the additional financial ramifications of the team's payroll, you can see why Phillies managing partner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski have been wary of making any big free agent splashes this winter.