Cincinnati Reds vice president and general manager, Nick Krall, has worked hard to shed payroll ahead of the 2023 regular season. Currently, the club is 26th in the MLB with a total committed payroll of just $70,624,500 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics.
That number is down from $76,800,000 last year and may still be trimmed a bit before all is said and done.
As a result of this salary trimming, the team’s money distribution is very top-heavy. Joey Votto leads the way at $25 million with Wil Myers next up at $6 million. And that’s where things get a little weird.
The third-highest-paid player on the Reds is none other than Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who will earn a deferred salary of $3,593,750 in 2023.
If you look at the Cincinnati Reds 2023 payroll. You have:
Joey Votto – 25 million
Wil Myers – 6 million
Ken Griffey Jr – 3.6 millionThat’s right, Griffey Jr is the 3rd highest paid player on the Reds payroll this season pic.twitter.com/5rtGCt6F9L
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) March 24, 2023
The 53-year-old Griffey Jr. last played in 2010 as a member of the Seattle Mariners. That came after a short stint with the Chicago White Sox and nine years with the Reds from 2000 into 2008.
After being traded from the Mariners to the Reds, Griffey Jr. agreed to a nine-year deal worth $112.5 million. That deal included 15 deferred years, each worth $3,593,750. The final payment will come in 2024.
