Blue Jays payroll including salary arbitration projections for 2018

The Toronto Blue Jays 2018 salary will be somewhere in the neighborhood of the $170 plus million they dished out to their players in 2017 especially if the front office lures that impact bat and pitcher they are apparently seeking this offseason.

The Jays ranked 5th in the MLB salary rankings for 2017 playing with the big boys when it comes to payroll. If the arbitration projections are correct Josh Donaldson will become the third $20 million dollar man on the roster joining Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki in the salary upper echelon.

The Jays have 10 players who qualify for arbitration this season including Marcus Stroman who could see his salary more than double from the $3.4 million he earned in 2017. The Jays will also have to make a decision on Tom Koehler who is estimated to be around $6 million next season. Koehler is an intriguing option out of the bullpen but he may price himself out of the equation.

Signed Through 2018

• Russell Martin– $20M
• Troy Tulowitzki– $20 M
• Marco Estrada– $13M
• J.A. Happ– $13M
• Kendrys Morales– $11 M
• Steve Pearce– $6.250 M
• Justin Smoak– $4.125 M

$87.4 currently committed to signed players.

MLB Trade Rumors has created a successful formula to predict the arbitration salaries. Full the full list of all arbitration eligible players click HERE. 

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Arbitration Eligible

• Josh Donaldson– $20.7M
• Aaron Loup– $1.8M
• Tom Koehler – $6.0M
• Ezequiel Carrera– $1.9M
• Marcus Stroman– $7.2M
• Kevin Pillar– $4.0M
• Ryan Goins– $1.8M
• Aaron Sanchez– $1.9M
• Devon Travis– $1.7M
• Roberto Osuna– $5.6M

$52.6 million in estimated arbitration salaries.

Pre Arbitration Eligible

• Dominic Leone– $548 K
• Bo Schultz– $543 K
• Joe Biagini– $543 K
• Ryan Tepera– $543 K
• Matt Dermody– $543 K

$2.7 M in Pre-Arbitration salaries based on 2017 contracts.

Free Agents

• Darwin Barney
• Brett Anderson
• Jose Bautista
• Miguel Montero

The 2018 team salary currently estimated at $142.7 M with four open roster spots.

According to CBS Sports the Blue Jays, opening day salary in 2017 was $177,795,368.

Next: Blue Jays past swing and misses in the first round piling up

There will surely be some roster tinkering and tweaking this offseason as the Jays search for ways to become younger and more athletic for next season. As the roster currently sits there are 4 vacancies and the payroll is already north of $140 million.