Dodgers Offseason: How the Miguel Rojas Acquisition Affects 2023 Payroll

After adding Rojas, L.A. is well over the line and will need to plan to get back under the tax threshold.

With the recent signing of Miguel Rojas, this move now switches things up in regard to Los Angeles and the team's luxury tax. The team is now right up against the payroll threshold, especially after reinstating Trevor Bauer last month.

Heading into the 2023 season, Los Angeles has an estimated $41 million less than last year and they still have to allocate $20 million or more to three players including $22.5 million to Bauer’s salary.

Though arbitration salaries are simply estimates, by the looks of things, the payroll will still be significantly impacted.

With the acquisition of Rojas on Wednesday, it did nothing but hurt finances even more. Rojas is due to make $5 million in 2023, which is not a lot, generally speaking—but in the grand scheme of things with the tax threshold in the mix— it makes a dent.

 Currently, L.A. is at least a few million dollars over the line.

The Dodgers will have to stay aware of their limit and can consider a trade to help them get below the threshold. This could even mean a trade of Blake Treinen, for example. Lowering the threshold in any way is certainly something to keep in mind if they have any plans on acquiring another player at the trade deadline as well.

At the same time, the fact that the team did trade for Rojas could implicitly show that the team is not worried about getting under the tax. Whether or not the team still has other offseason moves on the horizon, the addition of Rojas has surely put the team in a sticky situation.