Payroll Update
Just updating us on where we stand today with our favorite schmucks... And this (as we've seen!) is subject to change:
Starting 9:
2B, Lopez: ~$5 million (3rd time arb eligible)
CF, Milledge: $400K
3B, Zimmerman: ~$500K (potential for a long-term deal)
1B, Young: $5 million
RF: Kearns: $5 million
LF: Pena: ~$2.5 million (arb-eligible, was $1.875)
C: Flores: $400K
SS: Guzman: $4.2 million
TOTAL: $23 million
Bench:
Johnson: $5.5 million
Belliard $1.6 million
Dukes: $400K
Catcher: $1 million (assuming a veteran backup, for now)
Langerhans/Logan-type 5th OFer: $500K
Jimenez-type MI: $500K
TOTAL: $9.5 million
Starting Pitchers:
Hill: $400K
Bergmann: $400K
Patterson: ~$1.5 million (2nd time arb, was $.85 million)
Clippard: $400K
Chico: $400K
Redding: ~$1 million (1st time arb)
TOTAL: $4.1 million
Relievers:
Cordero: ~6.5 million (2nd time arb, was $4.15)
Rauch: ~1.5 million (1st time arb)
Ayala: ~1.5 million (2nd year arb, was $1.1)
Colome: ~1 million (1st time arb)
King: $850K
Rivera: $400K
TOTAL: $11.75 million
Total Offense: $32.5 million
Total Pitching: $15.9 million
Grand Total: $48.4 million
Uncle Teddy's accountants are smiling. The team's gotten better AND it's gotten cheaper.
Priorities:
1) Finding a catcher. Candidates: Damian Miller, Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada (eh, no, meh)
2) Finding a veteran arm for the starting rotation. Candidates: Livan, Jennings, Clement, Colon, Lieber, Benson, Weaver.
3) In an ideal world, finding some infield depth. Good luck finding anyone competent, unless you want to vastly overpay David Eckstein. We'll see what happens with the upcoming non-tenders list. (Maybe we'll find Lopez on the list!)
Starting 9:
2B, Lopez: ~$5 million (3rd time arb eligible)
CF, Milledge: $400K
3B, Zimmerman: ~$500K (potential for a long-term deal)
1B, Young: $5 million
RF: Kearns: $5 million
LF: Pena: ~$2.5 million (arb-eligible, was $1.875)
C: Flores: $400K
SS: Guzman: $4.2 million
TOTAL: $23 million
Bench:
Johnson: $5.5 million
Belliard $1.6 million
Dukes: $400K
Catcher: $1 million (assuming a veteran backup, for now)
Langerhans/Logan-type 5th OFer: $500K
Jimenez-type MI: $500K
TOTAL: $9.5 million
Starting Pitchers:
Hill: $400K
Bergmann: $400K
Patterson: ~$1.5 million (2nd time arb, was $.85 million)
Clippard: $400K
Chico: $400K
Redding: ~$1 million (1st time arb)
TOTAL: $4.1 million
Relievers:
Cordero: ~6.5 million (2nd time arb, was $4.15)
Rauch: ~1.5 million (1st time arb)
Ayala: ~1.5 million (2nd year arb, was $1.1)
Colome: ~1 million (1st time arb)
King: $850K
Rivera: $400K
TOTAL: $11.75 million
Total Offense: $32.5 million
Total Pitching: $15.9 million
Grand Total: $48.4 million
Uncle Teddy's accountants are smiling. The team's gotten better AND it's gotten cheaper.
Priorities:
1) Finding a catcher. Candidates: Damian Miller, Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada (eh, no, meh)
2) Finding a veteran arm for the starting rotation. Candidates: Livan, Jennings, Clement, Colon, Lieber, Benson, Weaver.
3) In an ideal world, finding some infield depth. Good luck finding anyone competent, unless you want to vastly overpay David Eckstein. We'll see what happens with the upcoming non-tenders list. (Maybe we'll find Lopez on the list!)
posted by Chris Needham at
1:30 PM
17 Comments:
Great mid-winter perspective on the progress of The Plan. Bowden is acquiring more potential for the future without giving up much long-term, while freeing up cash for meaningful moves (emphasis on meaningful... I'm just as thrilled that there haven't been any foolish free agent signings).
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 2:12 PM
This team's roster is beginning to look like the Tampa Bay Thugs. Next, Bowden will be trading Zimmerman for Attila the Hun.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 2:36 PM
Time to unload Chad Cordero........that's got to be coming next.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 3:09 PM
Seriously, how much could Eckstein possibly cost? 3 yrs at $5m per? $6m per? That's basically the same as Lopez to dramatically improve the weakest area of our offense (leadoff) and defense. Have you read the excerpt of "the book" that you linked to? Getting a runner on first base significantly improves the next hitter's odds by distracting the pitcher and the defense. I'll agree that trading for a young shorstop would be better, but outside that, I would be very happy to have Eckstein at short, push Guzman and his bad throwing shoulder to 2d until he pops a groin, and have Belliard and a non-tenderd Lopez or whoever on the bench.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 3:23 PM
Eckstein was floating 3/$24 numbers to the Cardinals and the Mets. They decided to go in a different direction.
It's entirely possible he could be the loser of the IF derby and wind up with a 1-year or 2-year contract. If so, you could certainly do worse.
Plus think of the scrappiness! Bob Carpenter just soiled himself!
By
Chris Needham, at 12/04/2007 3:25 PM
Of all the useless pseudo-statistics you constantly bombard us with on your blog, these payroll pseudo-statistics are the most useless. They tell us nothing about the team's ability to hit, field, win games, or keep their names off the police blotter. If any meaningful correlation could possibly be made off the payroll pseudo-statistic, it would be to the quality of the cars that will be in the players' parking lot this year. That's of no use to anyone except for the thugs that might be planning to go all Marlon Byrd on those rides. And all of them will be inside the stadium playing for the Nats, if current trends continue.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 4:10 PM
EPG -
Being a long time reader of Chris's blog I can only assume that the other "useless pseudo-statistics" you object to include OBP, VORP and various permutations of Win Shares. That being the case, may I humbly suggest that the collected works of Bill Conlin might be more your speed.
By
Nate, at 12/04/2007 4:34 PM
Ok, I'll take a crack at the post from the eggplant sandwich. We are playing a game called "armchair GM" here, where we all try to figure out what the team should do to improve, and suggest what we would do if only we were so lucky as to be the actual GM. It's fun, and it includes consideration of player's salaries. If you would prefer to blindly worship the present team management, I hear they're hiring. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to hear about your plan to trade for Barry Zito.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 4:36 PM
Okay, 3/$24m is pretty rough, and I assume that if he comes down from that it's more likely to be to stay with St. Louis than to play for the Nationals. I'll stop mentioning him now.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 4:40 PM
I'm pretty sure the payroll thing is an actual statistic, rather than pseudo. Anyway moving swiftly on for the Angry Eggplant...
If we get rid of Lopez we face the Schneider dilemma of taking a weak spot and turning it into a full blown hole in the organisation. Sure Lopez needs to go, but at this point we are already thin in the middle and won't get much for him. At least Kearns has some value. As does Cordero who we can only assume is gone.
By
Unknown, at 12/04/2007 4:43 PM
Eggplant, here's some unsolicited advice. If you a read blog that, in your opinion, lacks in useful or interesting information, simply delete it from your reader or bookmark list and move on. Works great.
By
kyle, at 12/04/2007 5:17 PM
Eggplant is totally right. Payroll doesn't tell us anything useful about the team or the quality of the players.
The better question though is why he would even make the argument that someone might interpret them that way, when most people logically wouldn't.
Chris is just trying to tell us how much cash the team has left to spend, which last time I checked is a pretty useful thing to know since MLB players don't work for skittles.
All razzing of Eggplant aside (it's been done enough now), this is a great step forward. The only thing I think probably should be a priority is moving Cardiac Chad. His home/away splits this year were 3.00/3.82, and he gave up 4 home runs both home and away, but that was with 8 fewer away game appearances. It's not that he's not good, it's just that a)we don't need him where we are right now and b)the fences in Nationals Park are going to be a lot closer than at RFK. His value is highest this off-season before clubs can make a fully concrete argument about RFK's park effects boosted his stats.
By
Michael Taylor, at 12/04/2007 5:48 PM
Eggplant, are you expressing swanni's viewpoint or the mirror image! Take Kyle's advice. Let Chris keep up the good work. He doesn't get quoted by ESPN for nothing!
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 5:50 PM
I actually like the Chief and have found excellent drugs which allow me to watch him. Having said that, Michael is right. His value will never be higher. See ya.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 5:52 PM
Maybe Chris or a commenter who understands MLB arbitration better than I do can answer: Why are we expecting Patterson's salary to double? I mean, I guess he's got another year's service under his belt, depending on how you define "service", but...
Not that the few hundred thousand should matter much looking at the total salary picture, which is obviously the point of the post; I'm just curious.
By
andrew, at 12/04/2007 8:41 PM
Chris, you're so right about being younger, faster, cheaper and, probably, better. But I have to disagree with one entry on your starting pitcher grid. Under what combination of psychotropic drugs were you using when you listed "Patterson" as one of the starters? What possesses you to believe this lame, dead-armed stiff has enough strength in his right arm to even pick up his comb, much less a baseball? Package Kearns, FLop and Cardiac Chad (my wife won't go to any more games after he blew a three-run lead in the ninth last season and held her hostage for a 13-inning loss) to Minnesota for Kevin Slowey, take in a night at the Grand Ole Opry and call it a great winter meeting, Diamond Jim. You done well.
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 9:20 PM
MLB.com is suggesting that the Nats have interest in Miguel Montero.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071204&content_id=2317580&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp&partnered=rss_mlb
By
Anonymous, at 12/04/2007 9:57 PM
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