MILWAUKEE -- A Brewers roster with nine players soaking in their first Major League Opening Day translated to one of the sport's lowest opening payrolls, according to a USA Today analysis that ranked Milwaukee 29th of 30 teams, at just over $61 million.
Teams and outside sources measure payroll differently, so that figure has room for interpretation. But whatever the precise sum, the Brewers' spending on Major League players has come down from 2014, when they topped $100 million in Opening Day payroll for the first time, and from the start of '15, when they were just shy of nine figures before shifting into a rebuilding phase.