Milwaukee, WI

Updating the Milwaukee Brewers’ payroll projection for 2026

Published

4 weeks ago

January 30, 2026

Updating the Milwaukee Brewers’ payroll projection for 2026

At the start of the offseason, we looked at the initial payroll projection for 2026. While not much has changed to the roster since then, there have been some adjustments. As the end of January approaches, and pitchers and catchers are set to report in just 13 days, the starting payroll is getting closer to a set amount. Let’s take a look at what has changed since then. (If you want to review the original projection from the end of October, you can find that post here.)

Here are some reminders for the projection.

The majority of these numbers are from Spotrac, which has estimated payroll numbers for all MLB teams.
Per the CBA, the minimum salary for players in 2026 is $780,000. Any pre-arbitration player has this salary listed by default. These salaries can be slightly different for each player, but not by a significant amount.
This is not a roster projection for 2026. Some players on this list are currently in the organization but may be planned for a minor league role. This is just in place to show what a minimum commitment would be. Minimum salaries can be swapped out for any other minimum salary player that would be in the minors.
While I do not think the Brewers will break camp with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, that is how it is set up below due to current commitments. That will change before the season.
In the initial payroll for 2026, I included the declined options after the 2025 season. Spotrac has moved those numbers to the 2025 season, so I have also adjusted for that to keep the numbers consistent.
The final projected payroll for 2025 was $156,266,827, per Spotrac. That was 18th in MLB.

First, here are the projections for the initial roster.

Position Players		Bench Players
C – William Contreras	$9,900,000*	C – Jeferson Quero	$780,000
1B – Andrew Vaughn	$7,650,000	1B – Jake Bauers	$2,700,000
2B – Brice Turang	$4,150,000	UT – Andruw Monasterio	$780,000
3B – Caleb Durbin	$780,000	OF – Garrett Mitchell	$950,000
SS – Joey Ortiz	$780,000	OF – Akil Baddoo	$1,250,000
LF – Jackson Chourio	$7,000,000
CF – Blake Perkins	$780,000
RF – Sal Frelick	$780,000
DH – Christian Yelich	$26,000,000
Total	$57,820,000	Total	$6,460,000

Starting Pitchers		Relief Pitchers
Brandon Woodruff	$22,025,000	Aaron Ashby	$5,700,000
Quinn Priester	$780,000	Trevor Megill	$4,700,000
Jacob Misiorowski	$780,000	Angel Zerpa	$1,095,000
Chad Patrick	$780,000	Abner Uribe	$780,000
Logan Henderson	$780,000	Jared Koenig	$780,000
		Grant Anderson	$780,000
		DL Hall	$780,000
Total	$25,145,000	Total	$14,615,000

Summary	Amount
Position Players	$57,820,000
Bench Players	$6,460,000
Starting Pitchers	$25,145,000
Relief Pitchers	$14,615,000
Initial Total for 2026	$104,040,000

Here’s a summary of what has changed since the original payroll:

Brandon Woodruff accepted his qualifying offer. That added his $22.025 million salary into the payroll. Even though Woodruff accepted the offer, he will also receive the buyout for his option being declined (that is factored into 2025 payroll).
William Contreras is the one player who still has a pending arbitration decision. Currently, he is estimated at $9.9 million, which is what he filed for. The Brewers filed for an $8.55 million salary. A deal could still happen before the hearing, but the salary will be somewhere between those two numbers.
Every other player that is in an arbitration year agreed to their salary. The contract amounts have been added above.
The following players have been removed: Freddy Peralta, Isaac Collins, Nick Mears
The following players have been added: Brandon Woodruff, Ángel Zerpa, Akil Baddoo

The total above is just the initial total based on the projected active roster. However, there’s still more money to factor in to the payroll. If you compare it to the active roster at the end of the season, the Brewers only had just over $84 million of their $156 million total on the active roster. Here’s where the rest of the payroll came from. (Some rounding is used in the table, so actual amounts will be slightly different.)

Source	Amount
Injured List (End of Season)	$15,800,000
Traded/Released Players (Not on roster at end of season)	$15,200,000
Declined Options	$16,600,000
Deferred Salaries	$2,800,000
Player Benefits	$18,000,000
Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool	$1,666,666
Minor-League Contracts	$2,700,000
Total	$72,766,666

Some of those numbers will be in the 2026 payroll as well. Specifically, the last four numbers will be very similar to 2025. The first three will be different in 2026. For the moment, there will not be any options to consider after the 2026 season, so that number can be ignored.

As for the other two numbers, it’s difficult to include a solid projection. Those numbers can easily be inflated by circumstances during the season. For example, if we looked at the injured list at the end of 2024, that was highly inflated due to Yelich finishing the season on it. If we go back to 2022, the traded/release player number was significantly higher because Lorenzo Cain’s final year salary was included. That would also result in the active payroll having a lower figure due to the changes in players, but those numbers end up in the IL or traded/released categories instead.

There’s one other factor that Spotrac considers in their payroll estimate. Even though the initial projection factors in 26 players, Spotrac adds in the payroll for 12 additional pre-arbitration players. Considering the Brewers were paying for seven IL players and eight players not on the team anymore (not counting two who were paid under $10,000), adding in 12 more players is a reasonable estimate. Those 12 players would make $9.36 million total. (Spotrac uses a slightly higher $820,000 estimate for pre-arbitration players, but the CBA minimum is at $780,000.)

What we can expect for 2026 is similar to the 2025 payroll. In terms of cash payroll, the total will at most be around that $156 million mark. The Brewers have been in the $140-$156 million range in recent years and that likely will not change. With that in mind, here’s a comprehensive look at the estimated payroll for 2026.

Source	Amount
Initial Projected Roster	$104,040,000
Additional Roster Players	$9,360,000
Deferred Salaries	$2,800,000
Player Benefits	$18,000,000
Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool	$1,666,666
Minor-League Contracts	$2,700,000
Initial Payroll Projection	$138,566,666

That leaves $17.4 million in potential additional payroll space. That extra space would be needed for the team to make in-season moves. It gives them the ability to take on money in contracts for players acquired by trade. It would also factor in contracts for players who make the team that are on minor league contracts (such as the recently signed Reese McGuire). It also gives them the opportunity to bring in a low-cost contract in spring training if the team has a sudden need.

With the overall quiet offseason for the Brewers, the payroll appears to be heading to a similar point in 2026. Any space remaining will be needed for in-season flexibility. There is potential for a smaller signing, since the team gained $7 million in space after trading Peralta. However, the team may be content to just save that money for now. If that’s the case, what we’re looking at will be close to the current spending plan for next season.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

A Milwaukee County judge on Thursday, Feb. 26, criticized the smell of marijuana inside the courthouse during a sentencing hearing, calling it inappropriate and illegal as visitors described the odor as common.

Posted February 26, 2026 9:30pm CST

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Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

Published

20 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

The Milwaukee Bucks signed guard Cormac Ryan to a two-way contract for the remainder of the regular season.
Ryan will be ineligible to play for the Bucks during the postseason.
Ryan averaged 20.4 points per game for the G League’s Wisconsin Herd, shooting 42.3% from three-point range.

The Milwaukee Bucks rewarded Cormac Ryan for his strong G League season with the Wisconsin Herd by signing him to a two-way contract. That will allow Ryan, 27, the chance to finish out the regular season with the Bucks. He would be ineligible for postseason play, however.

Ryan joins former Dominican High School star Alex Antetokounmpo and Pete Nance on two-way deals. The Bucks now have a completely full roster, with 15 guaranteed contracts as well.

Ryan was originally signed by the team in the summer, when he played in five summer league games, before inking a training camp contract. He appeared in two preseason games.

Ryan then played 29 games with the Herd and shot 42.3% from behind the 3-point line to average 20.4 points per game. He shot 48.9% from the field overall.

Ryan, a 6-foot-5 guard, played at Stanford (2018-19), Notre Dame (2020-23) and North Carolina (2023-24) before going undrafted. He averaged 10.4 points per game in college on 35.2% 3-point shooting. He made 40.7% of his 3-pointers in 2021-22 at Notre Dame.

He initially signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan did not make it out of training camp in 2024 but signed to the Thunder’s G League affiliate.

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Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

The Milwaukee Bucks have an opportunity to steal a victory from one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, they host the tired and diminished Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Fiserv Forum.

Cleveland (37-22), in contention for a top three seed, beat the New York Knicks on Feb. 24 in Ohio. After flying into Milwaukee after the game, the Cavaliers ruled out MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell and reigning defensive player of the year Evan Mobley. All-star James Harden is questionable to play.

One player who will suit up for Cleveland is point guard Dennis Schröder, who was acquired at the deadline from Sacramento. The 32-year-old is often a thorn in the side of the Bucks, and he scored 24 points in a Kings victory over the Bucks early in the season.

The Bucks are also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, though they slept in their own beds after beating Miami at home. They have won seven of their last nine games.

Milwaukee (25-31) remains out of the postseason picture entirely, however, sitting in 11th place in the East.

The Bucks have beaten teams with winning records in consecutive games only twice this season, with wins over Golden State and New York (Oct. 28-30) and Orlando and Oklahoma City (Feb. 11-12).

And, the Bucks also have struggled against teams that do not have their stars. They lost twice to Denver without all-stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray (and even more starters), lost to Minnesota without all-stars Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert and even Portland without starters Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe. They also lost to Philadelphia twice without Joel Embiid and Paul George on a minute limit.

Is Giannis playing?

No.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is still ramping up in his rehab from a Jan. 23 soleus strain in his right calf, which he self-diagnosed as a four- to six-week injury. Antetokounmpo has done “live” practice work with teammates and coaches after the team returned home from New Orleans beginning on Feb. 21.

Before the game against Miami, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has not gone five-on-five but does not need to. Rivers also added the two-time MVP has not suffered any setbacks with the injury.

What is the Bucks record without Giannis?

10-16

Milwaukee is 15-15 when Antetokounmpo plays any number of minutes.

Cavaliers on hot streak since trading for James Harden

Cleveland, which was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year with 64 wins, doubled down its roster heading into this season with the most expensive team in the NBA. But, as the trade deadline approached in early February, the team had fallen short of expectations. So, they began shedding salary and talent, most notably homegrown all-star guard Darius Garland.

They shipped the injured 26-year-old to the Los Angeles Clippers for 36-year-old all-star guard James Harden and received an immediate boost, winning five straight and six of seven heading into the game against the Bucks.

But Harden did suffer a fracture in his right (non-shooting) thumb against the Knicks on Feb. 24.

Harden has been solid since arriving in Cleveland, averaging 18.9 points on 48.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line while also averaging 8.0 assists. His presence has rejuvenated all-star center Jarrett Allen, who has averaged 20.4 points on 76.7% shooting since the point guard’s arrival. Before Harden joining the team, Allen averaged 13.9 points on 60% shooting in his first 40 games.

Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (right calf strain)

Milwaukee Bucks probable starters

Guards: Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green
Forward: Kyle Kuzma
Center: Myles Turner

Cavaliers injury report

Max Strus, out (left foot surgery)
Donovan Mitchell, out (right groin strain)
Evan Mobley, out (left calf injury management)
James Harden, questionable (right thumb fracture)

What time is the Bucks game?

Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. CT.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will be simulcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and WMLW The M with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.