What is the Cincinnati Reds' payroll this season?

The Cincinnati Reds spent over $100 million in free agency this offseason, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the team's payroll took a massive leap forward from 2023 to 2024. In fact, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Reds 2024 payroll is up just over $7 million from last season.

The Reds 2024 payroll is sitting at $90.37 million. Cincinnati has three players making $13 million or more this season, and all of them were signed this past offseason. The trio of Nick Martinez ($14 million), Frankie Montas ($14 million), and Jeimer Candelario ($13 million) are the highest paid players on this year's squad.

Candelario, Jonathan India, and Hunter Greene are the only three players on the Reds roster who have a guaranteed contract beyond the 2024 season, but Martinez, Montas, and fellow free agent signee Emilio Pagán all have the opportunity to remain with the Reds in 2025 as well.

What is the Cincinnati Reds' payroll this season?

The large majority of Cincinnati's payroll is committed to pre-arbitration eligible players, meaning that most players on the Reds 40-man roster are making the league-minimum salary in 2024. Players like Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Elly De La Cruz, and Spencer Steer are all taking home less than $800,000 this season.

There's another group players who were eligible for arbitration this past winter, but settled their 2024 salaries ahead of the season. Players with three years or more of service time, but less than six are eligible for salary arbitration.

This past offseason saw players like Jake Fraley, Lucas Sims, and Tyler Stephenson all agree to one-year pacts with the Reds rather than allow an arbiter to decide their salary for the 2024 season. The Reds were scheduled to go to arbitration with India, but the two sides came to terms on a two-year, $8.8 million contract instead.

The Reds saved $20 million after choosing not to pick up Joey Votto's 2024 club-option

One player who's not on this year's Reds payroll is longtime first baseman Joey Votto. The Reds chose not to pick up Votto's $20 million club-option this past winter and the future Hall of Famer became a free agent for the first time in his career. Votto joined his hometown Toronto Blue Jays on a minor-league contract.

Reds owner Bob Castellini should enjoy the team's low payroll this season, because that number is only going up. Players like De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Andrew Abbott will soon enter their salary arbitration window and be taking home much more than the league-minimum salary.

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