Naturally, I started by just poking around online. Didn't go anywhere super specific at first, just kind of did a general search, typed in stuff like "Reds 2024 player salaries" and things like that. You get a bunch of different numbers popping up, which can be a bit confusing right off the bat.
Trying to Make Sense of the Numbers
I .enistarted seeing different sites listing slightly different totals. Some include benefits, some track retained salaries differently, you know how it goes. It takes a minute to figure out what's included in each figure. I tend to look for the numbers focused just on the active roster salaries and any dead money, just to get a baseline.
What really helps is breaking it down player by player. I started jotting down the bigger contracts I knew about or looked them up. You have guys like:
- Jeimer Candelario: He was the big free agent signing, so I made sure to check his number for this year.
- Frankie Montas: Another new face they brought in for the rotation, needed to add his salary to the list.
- Hunter Greene & Nick Lodolo: Still on their early contracts, relatively cheap for now, but key pieces.
- Jonathan India & Tyler Stephenson: Went through arbitration, so their salaries saw a jump. Had to find those specific figures.
- Guys traded or released: Had to check if the Reds were still paying anyone not actually on the team. That 'dead money' adds up sometimes.
Looking at these individual deals helps build the picture. You see who's taking up the biggest chunks and where the team is investing.
Putting It All Together
After listing out the main guys and adding estimates for the pre-arbitration players and league minimum salaries filling out the roster, I started to get a total that felt about right. Compared it across a couple of the more reliable sports finance tracking spots online – again, without getting too bogged down in minor discrepancies.
It's definitely higher than the last couple of years, which makes sense given the signings like Candelario and Montas. But it's still not touching the top spenders in the league, not by a long shot. Seems like they dipped their toes back into free agency but didn't go on a massive spree.
It looks like a mix. They spent some money to bring in veterans, probably hoping to push the team towards contention. But a huge chunk of the roster is still young guys on cheaper deals. Guys like Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain (before his injury, anyway), Spencer Steer... they provide a ton of value without huge salaries right now.
So, my takeaway after digging through it all? The Reds definitely increased payroll, showing some intent to compete this year. They added some established players. But the core of the team's cost structure is still built around their young talent. They didn't completely blow things up, still seems like they have some financial flexibility compared to teams locked into massive, long-term deals everywhere. It'll be interesting to see if this level of spending is enough to get them over the hump.
