Jun 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third base Alec Bohm (28) celebrates his home run with first base Bryce Harper (3) and shortstop Trea Turner (7) during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
Despite finishing 2024 with a payroll approaching $250 million, the Phillies are set to have one of the largest year-over-year increases in 2025.
Jon Becker of FanGraphs estimates that the Phillies will have a payroll increase of more than $41 million from 2024 to 2025:
Here's IMO a much more accurate look at YoY payroll changes — this is real money paid in (or allocated to, in the case of deferrals that are paid out later) each season, NOT CBT calculations. Money left to be spent to equal last year but not many hundreds of millions: pic.twitter.com/QJ6bYFZer0
From a percentage standpoint, the Phillies payroll is set to increase 16.79% in Becker's estimation, with only the Baltimore Orioles (54.26%) and San Diego Padres (23.39%) seeing larger jumps in that regard. Of course, both of those clubs were starting at a lower overall number than the Phillies.
While there haven't been the wholesale changes that some fans hoped for coming into the offseason, the Phillies have still added the salaries of Max Kepler ($10 million), Jordan Romano ($8.5 million), Jesús Luzardo ($6.225 million) and Joe Ross ($4 million) this winter. Players like Ranger Suárez and Alec Bohm are seeing increases in their salaries as they are deeper into the arbitration process, while Bryson Stott ($3.2 million) and Brandon Marsh ($3 million) are making more than they ever have in their first year of arbitration eligibility.
Still, the biggest year-over-year jump will come from Zack Wheeler. Wheeler's five-year/$118 million deal he originally signed to come to the Phillies in 2020 — which proved to be one of the most team-friendly contracts in MLB history — is over. He'll now begin the three-year/$126 million extension he signed last Spring Training, which will pay him $42 million this season. It's funny to think about how different this offseason would be perceived if Wheeler had become a free agent and the Phillies brought him back on that deal, as opposed to having signed it last March. Of course, if Wheeler hit the open market he could have pursued an even longer contract at a higher average annual value.
It should be noted that there are differences between payroll and what is considered towards the luxury tax threshold. Among other things, payroll considers what a player is making in a specific year, and some deals are front-loaded or back-loaded. Luxury tax payroll considers only the average annual value of a contract. For example, Bryce Harper is making $27.54 million in 2025, but $23.54 million in 2031. Obviously, those two numbers are different on the payroll, but he'll count $25.38 million towards the luxury tax threshold in each season because that's the AAV of his 13-year/$330 million deal. For most fans, luxury tax payroll is more worth watching.
If you're one of those fans, you can keep track of where the Phillies currently stand in terms of luxury tax payroll using On Pattison's always-updated tracker.
Now that we know the salaries of six additional arbitration-eligible players, here's an updated look at the 2025 payroll for the Phillies. @OnPattison https://t.co/ru1DWmPmag
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