Angels Remain Narrowly Above Luxury Tax Threshol

The Angels competitive balance tax number still sits narrowly above the $233MM base threshold, . Los Angeles attempted to shed enough salary via waivers this week to limbo below that number but was unsucce sful. On Tuesday, the Angels placed six players on waivers. Five of them , , , and were claimed, with the other teams absorbing their salaries. Outfielder cleared waivers, however, as no team wanted to take what remained of the $1.7MM that the Halos had a sumed on Grichuks contract when acquiring him from Colorado. Thatll apparently be the difference, as Fletcher adds that the Halos wouldve indeed gotten under the threshold had Grichuk been claimed. The Angels could theoretically still try to cut some spending by placing someone else on waivers. Players claimed after August 31 wouldnt be eligible for postseason work with an acquiring team, but the Halos have more controllable players making above-minimum salaries (e.g. or ) whod likely Matt Wisler Jersey be claimed with an eye towards next season if the Angels simply wanted to clear them off the books. It doesnt seem thats the plan though. Minasian told Fletcher he doesnt believe that paying the CBT this year will affect the clubs budget during the upcoming offseason. The team will barely pay any extra money this year, as theyll only be taxed at a 20% rate on the minimal amount on which they surpa sed the threshold. Neverthele s, itll have an impact in a few ways. Most notably, it subjects the organization to higher fees in the event they exceed the threshold in consecutive seasons. Teams that pay the tax for a second straight year are charged a 30% fee (higher than the 20% standard rate) on their first $20MM of overages the following season. The fees continue to escalate for clubs that exceed the tax for a third straight year and/or surpa s the threshold by upwards of $20MM. CBT payors also receive reduced compensation for losing qualified free agents. The Angels are going to make a qualifying offer to , which hell decline. If he subsequently signs elsewhere, the Halos would receive a compensation pick after the fourth round in the 2024 draft. Thats typically around the 140th overall selection. Had the Angels gotten under the threshold, the compensatory pick wouldve landed between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round approximately 70th overall. The Angels will hope that latter point is irrelevant because they re-sign Ohtani. (None of their other impending free agents are candidates for the QO.) That wont be known until the offseason, though an Ohtani deal would likely mean theyre nearing luxury tax territory yet again. projects the Halos 2024 CBT number around $131MM. Thats well shy of next seasons $237MM base threshold, but it doesnt include arbitration estimates. Ohtanis contract alone figures to tack on at least $40-45MM and could well pay north of $50MM per season. The Angels would obviously need to supplement the roster around Ohtani if they retain him, likely by adding infield depth, at least one starting pitcher and multiple bullpen arms. Francisco Mejia Jersey