Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto.
Those three MLB superstars will now be in the same lineup after the San Diego Padres pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire Soto from the Washington Nationals ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
The Padres shipped out five players, headlined by shortstop C.J. Abrams, starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore and outfielder Robert Hassell III, to win the Soto sweepstakes and also pick up first baseman Josh Bell.
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Now, San Diego boasts arguably the most star power in all of baseball as the franchise chases its first ever World Series title. In addition to its newly-formed “Big Three” of Soto, Machado and Tatis Jr., the Padres also have Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Yu Darvish and Sean Manaea on their pitching staff. Oh, yeah, and they just traded for three-time NL Reliever of the Year winner Josh Hader, too.
So how much is this all-in approach costing owner Peter Seidler?
What is the San Diego Padres’ payroll in 2022?
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The Padres opened the 2019 season with a bottom-10 payroll of roughly $95 million. Three years later, they have one of the most expensive rosters in baseball.
San Diego’s payroll has more than doubled since 2019. It ballooned to over $200 million by the start of this season, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies.
Following the Soto trade, the Padres now have a total payroll of $213.65 million, according to Spotrac. That figure is fluid though, as it does not include any of the roughly $8 million Eric Hosmer is still owed this season. After Hosmer used his no-trade clause to keep himself out of the Soto trade, the Padres sent the veteran first baseman to the Boston Red Sox. But ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that San Diego would be retaining a “significant portion” of the money left on Hosmer’s contract. Hosmer has a $13 million player option over the next three seasons.
The Dodgers ($265.3 million), Mets ($260.8 million), Yankees ($253.65 million) and Phillies ($233.82 million) are still the only teams ahead of San Diego in total 2022 payroll.
Who are the highest-paid players on the San Diego Padres?
Not only is Machado the highest-paid Padre, but he’s also one of the game’s highest-paid players. Machado’s $32 million salary this season is tied with Miguel Cabrera and David Price for the 12th-highest in MLB. The six-time All-Star third baseman has six more full seasons remaining on his 10-year, $300 million contract, though he does hold a player option after 2023.
Wil Myers is the other current Padre taking home at least $20 million in 2022, as the outfielder has a salary of $22.5 million. Myers is in the last year of a six-year, $83 million deal and has a $20 million club option for next season.
Hosmer will make $21 million this season, but as mentioned earlier, it’s unclear how much of that total San Diego will be on the hook for.
Soto is now the fourth-highest-paid Padre at $17 million, behind Machado, Myers and Darvish ($19 million). Soto, who won’t be eligible to hit free agency until 2024, is due $6 million for the remainder of this season. The newly-acquired Bell is tied with Drew Pomeranz for the seventh-highest salary on the team at $10 million, with $3.52 million owed the rest of this season.
Tatis Jr. is earning just $5.72 million this year, but his salary will skyrocket in the coming seasons as he gets deeper into his 14-year, $340 million contract.
Here’s a full look at the Padres’ current highest-paid players by total 2022 salary:
Manny Machado: $32 million
Wil Myers: $22.5 million
Yu Darvish: $19 million
Juan Soto: $17 million (owed $6 million rest of season)
Blake Snell: $13.1 million
Josh Hader: $11 million (owed $3.93 million rest of season)
Josh Bell: $10 million (owed $3.52 million rest of season)
Drew Pomeranz: $10 million
Sean Manaea: $9.75 million
Joe Musgrove: $8.63 million
Mike Clevinger: $8 million
Jurickson Profar: $7.33 million
Are the San Diego Padres above the luxury tax?
The Padres are currently projected to be about $4.3 million over the competitive balance tax threshold of $230 million, per Spotrac. Since the Padres were a luxury tax team in 2021, they would have to pay a 30 percent tax for going over a second straight season.
