The Royals fielded an Opening Day roster with a total payroll of $123 million, in unofficial numbers according to Cot’s Contracts. The total is 15% down from the franchise-record $145 million payroll the team assembled for Opening Day last year.
At the outset of the off-season, Dayton Moore had stated his intent to reduce payroll to the $110-120 million range, saying, “we’ve got flexibility in that $110 to $120 [million range]. But I don’t necessarily think it makes sense to be in that $120 if we don’t feel like we match up well with the other teams in the division.