Nationals Over Luxury Tax Threeshold
The Washington Nationals will be over the luxury tax threshold for the second time, despite their attempt to offload some of the salary from their payroll before MLB’s August 31st Trade Waiver Deadline. According to the Associated Press, the Nats and the Boston Red Sox will be the only two teams over the threshold- with the New York Yankees narrowly making it below the threshold for the first time since the conception of the luxury tax in 2013.
Because this is the second time over the threshold for the Nationals, they will owe 30% on the overages, which factors out to about $2 million. The Red Sox are projected to owe significantly more, somewhere around $11 million. If the Nats are over the threshold again for a third year after next season, they will owe 50% on the overages.
Offloading veteran salaries held by Daniel Murphy, Gio Gonzalez, and Ryan Madson (along with others) helped get the number close, but not close enough. With where the Nationals currently stand, they will be given compensatory draft picks for any qualifying offer that is declined (HINT: Bryce Harper) so the slight overage isn’t entirely a bad thing.
With this season all but lost, the Nats have holes to fill and moves to make before next season, all with the looming free agency of their super-star outfielder Bryce Harper. It’s about as murky as it can be regarding the future of many key pieces to the Nationals’ roster, but one thing is as clear as day- they have some extremely talented youngsters including Juan Soto and Victor Robles. It may be beneficial for this club to find a way to trim some of the fat from their payroll moving forward.
