With the Sonny Gray trade, the Reds salary payroll is around $119-120 million. The club’s highest Opening Day payroll to date was $115.3 million in 2015.
The range is due to Alex Wood’s unresolved arbitration case. Wood will earn either $8.7 million or $9.65 million depending on the outcome of his hearing. All the other arbitration-eligible players settled with the club on 2019 salary prior to a hearing.
This projection assumes 9 players making league minimum will fill out the roster. That’s unlikely. If the Reds sign a free agent reliever, outfielder and infielder for bench depth, payroll could end up near or above $130 million.