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SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Wednesday morning, the Associated Press released details on all major-league teams' payrolls for 2014. The Cubs rank 23rd, with an Opening Day payroll of $89,007,857, about $15 million lower than the $104 million that was reported for 2013.
The Cubs' payroll thus is about 38 percent of the majors-leading Dodgers' $235,295,219. The Dodgers, incidentally, have dethroned the Yankees as MLB's payroll leaders, a spot the Yankees had inhabited for the last 15 seasons. It's worth noting that three 2013 playoff teams -- the Pirates, Rays and Athletics -- will have lower 2014 payrolls than the Cubs. It's certainly possible to put together a playoff contender without spending a fortune. The Phillies, for example, who rank third in 2014 payroll at $180,052,723, might not sniff contention this year. Deadspin has elaborated further on the AP article by listing every player salary for this year. Here's the Cubs' list:
Edwin Jackson 13,000,000 Jason Hammel 6,000,000 Starlin Castro 5,857,143 Jeff Samardzija 5,345,000 Nate Schierholtz 5,000,000 Carlos Villanueva 5,000,000 Kyuji Fujikawa 4,500,000 Travis Wood 3,900,000 Jose Veras 3,850,000 Darwin Barney 2,300,000 Justin Ruggiano 2,000,000 James Russell 1,775,000 Luis Valbuena 1,710,000 Anthony Rizzo 1,535,714 Ryan Sweeney 1,500,000 Wesley Wright 1,425,000 Pedro Strop 1,325,000 George Kottaras 1,075,000 James McDonald 1,000,000 Donnie Murphy 825,000 Jake Arrieta 544,500 Welington Castillo 530,000 Hector Rondon 514,000 Justin Grimm 505,500 Chris Rusin 503,500 Alberto Cabrera 503,000 Junior Lake 502,500 Mike Olt 502,000
Some of these numbers could change depending on who makes the final 25-man roster and whether there are any trades made before Opening Day; you'll note that there are 28 players listed above. I know that Edwin Jackson's 2014 salary has been reported elsewhere as $11 million, not $13 million, but these figures are what's in the Deadspin article.