Kyle Tucker's New Contract Showcases Eerie Trend When Compared to Marlins' Payroll
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One of the biggest discussions surrounding the MLB currently, and for the past few years, has been the payroll and the lack of a cap floor or ceiling.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers lapping pretty much every other franchise in the league in payroll twice over, and the CBA discussions set to take place next winter, the noise surrounding a lockout is growing ever louder.
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A large portion of MLB fans have been calling for a cap floor to be implemented, forcing teams near the bottom of the league in spending to spend more, while others have called for a cap to keep the top teams in check.
Ultimately, the "right" answer cannot really be determined until it is implemented, and, understandably, many players would want to avoid anything that prevents them from making the most money.
With the recent signing of Kyle Tucker to an already extremely talented Dodgers squad, at $60 million a year for four seasons, it has only intensified these notions. With Los Angeles set to have a projected 2026 tax payroll, including luxury tax value, that is nearly six times as large as the value for the Marlins, these discussions are quite interesting to hear out.
Est. 2026 Tax Payroll Including Luxury Tax
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 16, 2026
(in millions of US Dollars, via @spotrac):
576 LAD 😮
373 NYM
362 PHI
349 TOR
323 NYY
287 BOS
277 SD
272 ATL
258 CHC
251 HOU
227 SF
224 ARI
212 TEX
202 LAA
200 DET
199 BAL
197 KC SEA
156 MIL
150 CIN
144 ATH COL
143 STL
138 WSH
134 PIT…
How Does Tucker's New Contract Compare to the Marlins' Payroll in 2025 and 2026?
When comparing Tucker's new contract, there are various values you can look to put it up against, hence why there are so many varying percentages on social media right now. The easiest to look at is projected cash payroll, as it is the all-encompassing number, at least mostly, for a franchise's outgoing value to the roster. For Miami, this number was $90,652,027 in 2025.
If you assume Tucker will make $57,180,000 a year (Spotrac's projected luxury tax valuation for him), that would mean that yearly, he is making 63.10% of Miami's 2025 projected cash payroll, which is astounding.
The current projection for 2026 in the same metric for the Marlins is $84,895,000, meaning his contract would be up to 68.53%, presuming Miami doesn't sign anyone else for 2026, which is unlikely.
With that said, Miami has actually done a pretty outstanding job building its roster for the future, with many valuable assets still remaining on their rookie-scale contracts or smaller veteran deals. This has allowed them to keep the number so low, as has their constant influx of productive rookies and prospects. It will be fascinating to see how the next winter plays out, given all these factors.
