Breaking down the Angels' 2027 payroll ahead of Stan Kroenke's arrival and likely lockout

Despite a lack of success during the decade, the Los Angeles Angels were never shy about their tax bill. The Angels consistently ranked in the top half of Luxury Tax bills in the final years of the Arte Moreno era. Obviously, they weren't spending the money in the right places.

They never went over the Luxury Tax in the 2020s, but they may be about to change. With Stan Kroenke and Kroenke Sports Entertainment on the way in, the hope is that they will start to spend like the top dogs in baseball, because Kroenke will be the richest owner. Now, of course, all of that could change with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement to be signed this winter (hopefully), but fans should at least be aware of where the tax sheet sits before the start of the 2026-'27 offseason. (Player positions and salaries are listed from Spotrac.com).

Catcher - $4.25 million

As things currently stand, the Angels have four catchers: Moises Ballesteros, Sebastian Rivero, Logan Porter, and Tyler Heineman. Ballesteros, Rivero, and Porter are all pre-arbitration players, meaning they will have a $1 million salary next season. Heineman is heading into his first year of arbitration, and Spotrac projects he will have a $1.25 million salary (MLB Trade Rumors projects $1.5 million).

1st Base - $1.5 million

Nolan Schanuel is the only listed first baseman on the roster. He is headed into his first season of arbitration, with a projected salary of $1.5 million ($3 million by MLBTR).

2nd Base - $3 million

The Halos have three second basemen on the roster: Oswald Peraza, Christian Moore, and Vaughn Grissom. Moore and Grissom are each pre-arb, meaning a $1 million salary for next season; Peraza is in his first season of arbitration with a projected $1 million salary too ($1.4 million by MLBTR).

3rd Base - $1 million

The lone third baseman on the roster by Spotrac is Ignacio Alvarez (Denzer Guzman is listed at short). Alvarez is in pre-arb, earning him $1 million.

Shortstop - $8.6 million

While Zach Neto is heading into his second year of arbitration after getting Super Two status last year, getting him arbitration a year early. Spotrac predicts his 2027 salary at $6.6 million (MLBTR has $9.8 million), and the other two million comes from Denzer Guzman and Kyren Paris, both in pre-arb, earning $1 million.

Outfield - $43.3 million

As everyone knows, most of this comes from Mike Trout. His AAV is ~$35.5 million, which is actually a $1.5 million savings on his actual salary. Jose Siri and Josh Lowe are both in arbitration. Siri's contract is projected at $2.2 million ($2.3 million by MLBTR), and Lowe at $2.6 million ($3.6 million by MLBTR). Outfielders Wade Meckler, Bryce Teodosio, and Gustavo Campero are all pre-arb players earning $1 million.

Starting Pitchers - $33.725

Yusei Kikuchi is headed into the final year of his three-year contract with an AAV of $21.225 million. Reid Detmers is heading into his third year of arbitration, with one more to go, projected at $5.5 million ($7.5 million by MLBTR), and Grayson Rodriguez is going into his first year of arbitration with a projected salary of $1 million ($2.1 million by MLBTR). Ryan Johnson, Walbert Urena, Sam Aldegheri, George Klassen, Caden Dana, and Jack Kochanowicz are all in pre-arb, making $1 million.

Relief Pitchers - $12 million

The Angels have 12 relievers on their 40-man roster. Spotrac projects all of them to get $1 million salaries. Three of them are in their arbitration years: Ben Joyce, Taylor Saucedo, and Sam Bachman. MLB Trade Rumors projects Joyce at $1.1 million, Bachman at $1.1 million, and Saucedo at $1.5 million. Not factored in here is Robert Stephenson's $2.5 million club option, which the Angels are able to pick up because Stephenson has missed significant time due to an elbow injury.

The total for player salaries is $104.375 million. Adding in player benefits, minor league salaries, and extra bonuses, the total comes to $142.0 million according to Spotrac. If the current financial system stays in place, that would leave them almost $100 million to work with before reaching the luxury tax, and hopefully Kroenke would go over that.

Spotrac is generally conservative with their arbitration projections, though. If the actual numbers are what MLB Trade Rumors projects, the total salary of the roster would rise by $10.25 million, still leaving almost $90 million until the tax. Also, not every player listed here will be on the roster next season, too. Some of the players will be non-tendered and become free agents to open up spots on the roster. Also, players who are not in the majors don't earn full MLB salary, even if they are on the 40-man roster, so that will lower the total number at the end of the season.

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