Earlier today we projected the 2010 25-man roster. Now let’s look at what that means for the 40-man roster and the opening day payroll.

40-Man Roster Projection (notes and explanations on the projection can be found following the roster)…

Notes on the 40-man roster projection

  • Ages are as of today. Shaded players are projected to be on the 40-man roster, but not on the 25-man roster. Italicized players are currently on the 40-man roster but are not projected to be on the roster in ’09.
  • The Rays now have 37 players on the 40-man roster. Elliot Johnson and Mitch Talbot are out of minor league options and we don’t see a spot on the big league roster for either. We expect both players to be removed from the 40-man roster at some point.
  • The Rays had 10 players that were arbitration-eligible this off-season. The Rays non-tendered Gabe Gross and avoided arbitration with Grant Balfour, Dioner Navarro, Lance Cormier and Randy Choate. Salaries for the remaining 5 arbitration players are guestimations at this point based on other arbitration-eligible players in recent years that play the same position, have similar service times and comparable stats.
  • With the addition of Rafael Soriano and the decision to keep Dioner Navarro (for now) the opening day payroll projects to be $71.1 million. Of course, there are places where the Rays can save money, if they choose to trade a player like Carl Crawford or Carlos Pena, both of whom are entering the final years of their current deals. Combined, those two players will account for almost one-third of the 2010 payroll.
(1) Based only on players currently within the organization and will be updated when trades are consumated and free agents are signed.
(2) Once a player is added to the 40-man roster, the team can ‘option’ the player to the minors 3 times. A team cannot be charged with using more than one option in a given season even if a player is demoted to the minors several times that year. An option is not used if a player is added to the 40-man roster midseason unless he is sent back to the minors at some point. An option is only used if a player spends more than 20 days in the minors while on the 40-man roster. A player with more than 5 years experience can refuse a minor league assignment, so we list those players as having no options.
(3) Years remaining under control of franchise before free agency eligibility. A player can become a free agent after 6 years of Major League service time.
(4) First, second and third year players will have their salaries determined by the team, but will fall close to the major league minimum which is $400K in ’10. Minor leaguers on the 40-man for the first time make $33,750 and second-year players (or players with at least 1 day of major league experience) make twice that amount. We are not including signing bonuses or incentives.
* Players with at least 3 years since their big league debut. These players must clear optional waivers in order to be demoted to the minors even if they have options remaining.

Related posts:

  1. Projected 2010 Tampa Bay Rays 40-Man Roster And Payroll
  2. Projected 2010 Tampa Bay Rays 40-Man Roster And Payroll
  3. Projected 2010 Tampa Bay Rays 40-Man Roster And Payroll