The Diamondbacks are Cutting Payroll in 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks were forced to sell at the MLB trade deadline, sealing their fate as one of the most disappointing teams in franchise history.

Once again, when expectations were the highest, the team underperformed those expectations.

Diamondbacks Run out a Franchise Record Payroll for 2025

Heading into the season hopes were high. The D-backs were coming off an 89-win season, just barely missing the playoffs by one game.

This came on the heels of an unexpected World Series appearance in 2023, as season in which the Diamondbacks won 84 regular season games.

Owner Ken Kendrick made a splash, signing Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract. That drove the team's payroll up to at least $187 million, according to public resources. The team claimed the true figure was closer to $195 million.

Whichever number one prefers to use, that blew by the previous year's franchise record payroll of $173 million. Kendrick is to be commended for investing all of the windfalls from the Postseason run and attendance increase back into the team.

Unfortunately injuries and underperformance, especially on the pitching side of things, combined to torpedo the D-backs' season. Burnes, and relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez had season ending elbow surgeries. All three will miss most, if not all of 2026.

Despite a top-ranked offense, the remaining pitching staff could not keep up, with many more getting hurt as well. The team fell below .500, necessitating a trade deadline selloff.

The D-backs saved a little more than $17 million by trading Merrill Kelly, Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor, Randal Grichuk, Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery at the deadline.

Diamondbacks are Cutting Payroll in 2026

In a recent interview with the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, team President and CEO Derrick Hall said the team would be "reinvesting" the money saved. But he also said the team would be cutting payroll.

“We had those conversations — the money we saved, we can reinvest into the product for next year," Hall said to Piecoro. He cited the injuries and need to fill roster holes. But then he followed up with this.

“Do I think we need to have the payroll number where it was this year? Probably not."

Piecoro also wrote further down in his article that "Hall expects payroll to come down from this year’s levels, though he did not offer a specific number."

One can only surmise from these comments then that payroll is being cut, but that the savings from the selloff might reduce the amount that is cut. There really is no other way to parse it.

Existing Commitments Make 2026 Payroll Cut a Challenge for Mike Hazen

On June 27 I wrote an article explaining the payroll dilemma the Diamondbacks face. While over $70 million "comes off the books" due to departing free agents, other player's contracts escalate. That includes guaranteed raises for those signed to long-term contracts and players eligible for arbitration.

Related Content: Payroll Commitments Might Impact Diamondbacks at Deadline

Once you take into account the guaranteed salaries, arbitration estimates, pre arb player salary, as well as injury replacements, the total comes out to over $140 million before they sign even one free agent.