Where Braves payroll stands at start of spring training

They now have a projected opening-day payroll of about $129 million, pending further transactions, down from what would have been $152 million if a full season had been played last year.

The current figure includes the recent arbitration decisions that set the salaries of shortstop Dansby Swanson and pitcher Mike Soroka.

Of course, the books aren’t closed on the 2021 payroll. More moves will be made, either during spring training or the regular season. And even without more moves, the opening-day payroll will fluctuate slightly depending on spring decisions regarding the 26-player roster.

The Braves had signaled that their payroll would be reduced after the steep revenue decline of 2020, and…