Washington Nationals: Making history by exceeding luxury tax threshold
The Washington Nationals made history by passing the collective bargaining tax threshold for the first time in franchise history.
The Washington Nationals recently added Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler to their bullpen in hopes that they could stabilize the back-end of games for their playoff push. However, those additions will come at a high cost.
The Washington Nationals, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, had an opening day payroll of about $164 million. After the recent deadline moves, though, their payroll is around $170 million, which will cause the Nationals to exceed the collective bargaining tax threshold ($195 million) for the first time in franchise history. The threshold requires that payroll be calculated using average annual value of contracts and also includes an estimated $13 million player benefits cost.
The penalty for the Washington Nationals will be a tax of 20 percent of their overage because they are first-time offenders. Teams that exceed the threshold multiple times suffer more severe penalties.
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The tax and the high payroll combined show that the Nationals are likely done trading this season. They were active before the non-waiver deadline, but now that many of the players available to trade are high-salary players placed on waivers, it would be shocking to see them add another high-dollar contract.
With that said, this current Washington Nationals roster is likely the roster for the 2017 playoffs, barring any injuries. They already have a long list of injured players and their returns could be key for a successful month of October.
If everyone is healthy, the Washington Nationals will have a starting lineup of Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Wieters. Their bench would include Jose Lobaton, Howie Kendrick, Adam Lind, Stephen Drew and either Wilmer Difo or Brian Goodwin.
The Nationals are also hoping their rotation is healthy when Stephen Strasburg returns to the fold. He would join Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and Edwin Jackson with Erick Fedde being available as a spot starter. With the bullpen headlined by Doolittle, Madson and Kintzler, the Nats have strong pitching and should be tough to deal with in any playoff series.
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The roster is extremely strong, when healthy, but it did come at a price. However, owners throughout sports have often had to pay a high price to secure a championship. If the Washington Nationals win the 2017 World Series, the luxury tax will be an afterthought for the fans and organization.