May 18
We are just moving past the quarter-pole of the 2011 season and so far, the Rays and Royals have the most efficient rosters in baseball, paying just $440,000 for each win. [BUSINESS INSIDER]
Archive for the 'Payroll' Category
May 16
Joel Sherman Says Low Payroll Gives Rays Advantage Over Yankees, Red Sox
Andrew Friedman, Payroll 7 Comments »
The Yankees ($197M) and Red Sox ($160M) have two of the three biggest payrolls in Major League Baseball. At the other end, the Rays ($42M) are only outspending the Royals ($36M). But according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, it is the Rays that have an unfair advantage in the AL East.
Baseball poverty isn’t a blessing. But it is not quite the curse you probably think it is.
And Sherman sets the tone early. It seems to us that most people these days understand that a team can win with a small payroll. That is not the problem. However, with a large payroll, it is much easier to win consistently. The fact the Rays have been in the playoffs twice in last three years just emphasizes how difficult it is. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Yankees rarely miss the playoffs.
One reason they lean toward success is baseball poverty. Or, more accurately: Finding the advantages in working with the second-lowest payroll in the majors.
So which is it Sherman? Are the Rays succeeding because they are poor (as you state in the first sentence)? Or are they winning in spite of their payroll (as implied in the second sentence)?
This is not about pitying the deep pockets of the Yankees and Red Sox…
Then don’t.
…[this is] merely recognizing some problems even come with bountiful resources. Remember there is no more inefficient way to spend money than on big free-agent contracts; the dollars-for-performance success rate throughout the life of those deals is tiny.
Jesus Christ. I think I just had a heart attack in my butt. Sherman makes it sound like every huge free agent contract is a bust. Alex Rodriguez? Mark Teixeira? CC Sabathia? Mariano Rivera? Are the Yankees anywhere in 2010 if they didn’t give those guys big contracts?
Besides. One of the biggest advantages Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 01
Well, we knew the payroll was going to go down. And now that the opening day roster is set, we know just how far the payroll has fallen.
Last year, the Rays opened the season with a $71.9 million payroll. This year, with several high-priced defections, the opening day payroll will be $41.9 million. That is a drop of 41.7% from a year ago. Of course, that is close to the $43.8 million opening day payroll in 2008, the year the Rays went to the World Series.
[Update: Marc Topkin tracked down the actual salaries for the players making close to league minimum]
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 27
With the recent additions of Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon and Kyle Farnsworth, here is an updated look at how the Rays 40-man roster and 2011 payroll would look if the season started today. We will have more on the opening day roster later today…
Notes on the 40-man projection…
- A legend for the table can be found below.
- Players in white would be on the 25-man roster. Players in grey would be on the 40-man roster but are projected to start the season in the minors.
- Justin Ruggiano, Elliot Johnson and Adam Russell will be out of minor league options.
- Stuart Sternberg said Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 14
The Yankees will pay Rafael Soriano $11.5 million in 2011. And with that addition, the Bombers are now projected to pay their seven relief pitchers more than the Rays will pay their ENTIRE ROSTER. But hey, at least the Charlotte Stone Crabs are better than the Tampa Yankees. [Business Insider]
Dec 22
[Update 2] With the signing of Kyle Farnsworth ($3.0M in 2011), the projected payroll is now $35.4 million.
[Update] With the trade of Matt Garza, the Rays now have a projected payroll of just $33.3 million. That is quite a step down from $71.9 million a year ago. Of course there is still time left to spend some of the money saved. We’ll see if Andrew Friedman and Co. do pick up a bat and maybe a reliever or two to shore of the roster.
We knew the Rays would be cutting payroll in 2011, and after seeing several members of the 2010 roster sign with new teams and Jason Bartlett traded to the
Padres, we now have a better idea of what the roster and payroll will look like next season. In fact, at this point, the Rays have already cut their payroll in half. Below is the 40-man roster and payroll projection based on players currently in the organization.
Notes on the roster can be found after the table…
Notes on the 40-man projection…
- A legend for the table can be found below.
- There are currently 36 players on the 40-man roster. Players in white would
Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 23
Simmons And Kornheiser Compare 2010 Rays To 1997 Marlins
Bill Simmons, Payroll, Stuart Sternberg, Things that make me want to club a stuffed baby seal, Tony Kornheiser 43 Comments »
Yesterday we worried that Stuart Sternberg’s comments about the 2011 payroll would lead to unfair comparisons to the 1997 Marlins, a team that won the World Series and then completely gutted their roster. The 1998 Marlins lost 108 games.
Big League Stew thought we were overreacting (us? overreact? never!).
Well, it didn’t take long for somebody at ESPN to make the stomach-punching comparison. Enter “Pardon the Interruption” with hosts Tony Kornheiser and Bill Simmons (yes, the same Bill Simmons we roasted earlier this week).
(Ed. note: you will want to sit down before reading this and make sure there are no sharp objects nearby. You may also want to prepare a stiff drink. You will need it.)
Bill Simmons: Tampa’s (sic) owner admitted during this week’s Yankees series – a strange time to admit this – that the Rays will be broken up after the season. They almost definitely can’t afford to keep Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza (Ed. note: they can afford Bartlett and Garza, but the Rays have much cheaper options in-house, so those two may be traded). Tony, if you were a Rays fan, why would you consider rooting for this team?
Tony Kornheiser: You mean if I am one of the 450 Rays fans that exist?
BS: 600.
TK: They have one of the eight best teams in baseball?
BS: And no fans.
TK: Right. And nobody ever goes to their games. If I am management, I am certainly not going to consider what the fans have to say about this. We saw, in the same state – another team that should be contracted by the way – the Florida Marlins, win a World Series, dump their team completely, but five years later win it again. So if the Rays use that as a model, they can win.
BS: Well, I think they have an even better set up than the Marlins did…
At this point, Simmons starts talking about Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 22
Sternberg Just Gave Talking Heads Their Rays Postseason Storyline
Payroll, Stuart Sternberg 25 Comments »
The Rays opened the season with a $72 million payroll. Back in March, Stuart Sternberg announced that the 2011 payroll would be less than $60 million. And now, two weeks prior to the playoffs, Sternberg said the payroll is going down no matter what the Rays do in the playoffs…
“No question. Nothing can change that,” Sternberg said before Tuesday’s game. “Unfotunately there’s nothing that can happen between now and April that can change that unless Joe Maddon hits the lottery and wants to donate it, or I hit the lottery.”
The problem with this statement is the timing. Instead of being the great story that they are, cutting the payroll will now be the running theme surrounding the Rays as long as they are alive in the playoffs. And even if the Rays win the World Series, the topic will be “sure, but now they are just going to gut the team.”
The pundits won’t look at the roster. Instead, they will just see this quote and assume that the 2010 Rays are going to be the 2007 1997 Marlins reincarnated. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We have no problem with Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 01
Raising MLB’s Minimum Payroll Would Only Cause More Problems
Payroll, Salary Floor, Uncategorized 2 Comments »
In the wake of the Major League Baseball’s leaked financial documents, Patrick Rishe of Forbes.com is the latest to call for the institution of minimum payrolls, often referred to as a “salary floor,” as a way to force teams to reinvest money received from revenue sharing…
Imposing league minimum team payrolls would ensure that money received through MLB’s general fund is re-invested into the major league product in a very direct way…The revenue sharing system in MLB was instituted to create a greater degree of competitive balance. Low payroll teams with persistently poor on-field performance that have the means circa their shared revenues to add $10-20M dollars in payroll – but don’t – are doing the system, and their fan bases, a major disservice.
First of all, Major League Baseball already has a salary floor of $10 million (25 player roster, $400K minimum salary per player).
Beyond that, what if MLB and the player’s union agreed to raise the salary floor? The theory sounds great. And for the first couple of seasons, it might actually work. But eventually, it will cause a problem bigger than the one it is attempting to fix.
In short, raising the salary floor will only serve to Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 16
Crawford And Pena Will Not Be Back With Rays In 2011
25-man Roster, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Grant Balfour, Pat Burrell, Payroll, Rafael Soriano 27 Comments »Pitchers and catchers haven’t even reported for the 2010 season and the Rays are already on the offensive (or is it defensive) about Carl Crawford’s and Carlos Pena’s futures with the team as well as the 2011 payroll.
We extended last year, we’re over-extended heading into this year…We’ll see the effect of this in the future.
We did out-spend ourselves last year (at $63-million) and completely have out-spent ourselves this year. And unfortunately we’re going to feel the effect of that the next couple years for certain. … There’s no $60-million payroll next year either, let alone a $70-million payroll.
Translation: Sorry guys, we know you love Pena and Crawford, but we can’t afford either of them, much less both. Does that make you sad? Tough shit. Get over it.
Let’s take a look at the Rays payroll commitments for the 2011 season…
Notes on the projected roster…
- Players in their first three seasons make close to the major league minimum which in 2011 will be $400K plus a 2-year cost-of-living adjustment. Players in their second and third seasons often receive a nominal raise based on performance.
- Arbitration salaries are very rough estimates at this point.
- In addition to the 25 players on the big league roster, the Rays will pay approximately $1.0 million to 15 minor leaguers on the 40-man roster.
- We are assuming that the Rays will not re-sign any of their free agents. That means approximately $40.0 million in 2009 salaries will come off the books. Those players include Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Pat Burrell, Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Gabe Kapler and Randy Choate.
- Based on those expiring contracts and some obvious replacements from the minor leagues (e.g., Desmond Jennings), the Rays will still have several positions to fill including 1B, DH and 2-3* relief pitchers.
- In the best case scenario (payroll-wise), if those openings are filled by players that make near the league minimum, the opening day payroll projects to be an estimated $52.3 million.
- The Rays could save approximately $5.0 million if they choose to buy out Dan Wheeler and Willy Aybar, but replacing those players would cost at least $1.0 million. That would leave the opening day payroll near $48.3 million.
So let’s say we take Sternberg at his word and the 2011 payroll will be under $60 million. And let’s assume they don’t re-sign any of their free agents and they buy out Wheeler and Aybar. And let’s say the Rays can fill the bench spot and the three bullpen spots with near-league minimum players (not impossible). That leaves approximately $10 million to fill 1B and DH.
Re-signing Crawford for less than $10 million will not happen. And of course, re-signing Crawford doesn’t fill 1B or DH. Pena seems more plausible, but still unlikely. Even if the Rays can re-sign Pena at a discount ($8-9m), there would be almost nothing left to fill the DH spot. Quite simply, Crawford and Pena do not fit into the 2011 payroll.
Let’s face it. This is the reality of rooting for the Rays. Unless we can get all of our great players to sign Longorian contracts, there is going to come a point in their primes when the Rays can no longer afford them.
Then again, Sternberg also said the 2010 Rays would not have a $7 million closer. Sometimes, plans change.
*It is possible that Jeremy Hellickson is in the 2011 rotation and Jeff Niemann is bumped to the bullpen. If so, the Rays would only have two RP spots to fill.
