Gabe Lacques

USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who set a major league record with a $241 million payroll last season, are showing little hesitation in swallowing even more money in 2015.

The Dodgers on Tuesday designated relief pitcher Brian Wilson for assignment, which means they will eat the $9.5 million they owe him.

This comes on top of the $12.5 million the Dodgers will pay the Miami Marlins to offset the salaries of pitcher Dan Haren and infielder Dee Gordon as part of a six-player trade consummated last week.

If you're keeping track, that's $21.5 million paid to three players who likely will not play an inning for the Dodgers in 2015.

"For us, the contract is the contract," new general manager Farhan Zaidi said on a Tuesday conference call. "We don't want to be sort of tied down by financial obligations — we're just trying to build the best team we can for 2015."

The Dodgers have 10 days to trade or release Wilson, who was part of a grim middle relief core for the club in 2014. Wilson, 32, posted a 4.66 ERA in 48 1/3 innings, while making $10 million. Given his poor performance, it was an easy choice for him to activate a $9.5 million player option for 2015.

That doesn't mean the Dodgers have to keep him around, though.

They'll pay him to go away while looking elsewhere to shore up a relief core that, outside of closer Kenley Jansen and setup men J.P. Howell and Brandon League, was a liability in the regular season and playoffs.

The thinking was somewhat similar with Haren. He'd have been a serviceable fifth starter in 2015, but dealing him and Gordon netted them a prospect package that included Andrew Heaney, since dealt to the Los Angeles Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick.

Minus Haren, the Dodgers signed Brandon McCarthy to a four-year, $48 million contract.

"We feel good about him turning the corner," Zaidi said of McCarthy, who excelled after a midseason trade to the New York Yankees.

Zaidi acknowledged that the McCarthy signing was motivated in part by the specter of No. 2 starter Zack Greinke opting out of his $147 million contract next season.

While the Dodgers are paying out plenty of money, they are getting some salary relief - approximately $4 million from the Boston Red Sox as part of the September 2012 blockbuster that sent outfielder Carl Crawford and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Los Angeles. That, however, figures to be canceled out by the dollars they send to the San Diego Padres to offset Matt Kemp's salary. The Dodgers have agreed to pay $32 million over the final five years of Kemp's deal, though it's not yet known what that sum will be in 2015.