Overview
- Diaz’s $69 million deal includes a $9 million signing bonus, a $14 million salary in 2026, $23 million in 2027 and 2028, and $4.5 million deferred each season.
- The deferred sums are paid in 10 equal July 1 installments through 2047, covering 2026 deferrals from 2036–45, 2027 from 2037–46, and 2028 from 2038–47.
- At $23 million per year the contract sets a reliever AAV record, while the deferral structure lowers the competitive-balance-tax calculation to roughly $21.1 million.
- Los Angeles faces penalties for signing a qualifying-offer free agent, forfeiting its second- and fifth-highest 2026 draft picks and losing $1 million from its 2026 international pool, with its top 2026 pick also set to drop 10 spots for exceeding the highest tax threshold.
- The new deferrals lift the Dodgers’ future obligations to more than $1.06 billion owed to nine players, including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Blake Snell and Freddie Freeman, with reported peak annual payouts of about $102.3 million in 2038 and 2039.