Four Random Thoughts on MLB Payroll
MLB salary figures came out this week, and since then, I’ve been delving into the data a and analyzing trends since 2000. Here are four quick tidbits (with visual aids!)
1. The Yankees are still dominating. See that line above alllll of the others. Guess who. With the additional money the Bronx Bombers will be saving/making with the new stadium, I can see a scenario where they’re spending $300 million annually on payroll even with their improving player development machine. Read more here.
2. The NL West is the “efficient” division. Alternatively, the Dodgers have been really inefficient and have no excuse for not winning their division. Look at the four payrolls bunched together and then the Dodgers separate. (OK, calling the Giants anything other than dysfunctional is throwing them a bone, just ignore those geriatric bums — plus Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum).
3. This whole winning thing pays off, just ask the Tigers. Look at the growth that has coincided with their return to the positive side of the victory ledger. They leveraged some great drafts and a few key free agent signings into a big playoff run and they really ran with it this year, trading for Miguel Cabrera and then giving him a long-term deal. You wonder if someone in Pittsburgh should maybe, y’know, check that stuff out.
4. It isn’t just the Yankee-Red Sox show these days. There are 10 teams over the $100 million threshold and three more nearly over it. If you take out the Yankees, who lap everyone else, the top dozen teams are within a $40 million range. That’s how you achieve parity in the sport.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Nice article. One tiny critique on the Yankees piece over at AOL…the Yanks have Giambi, Moose, Abreu, Pettitte, Pavano and others coming off the payroll next year. By signing C.C. and Teixeira to huge deals, they won’t be upping payroll, just decreasing dead weight with superstars. That’s a scary thought.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
“Decreasing” should be “replacing”. Frustrating.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Scary indeed. And yeah, I sort of blew that part about the contracts coming off the books out of pure writing laziness because I was trying to get to my point quicker — the Yankees are going to keep spending freely even as they develop their own talent more successfully.
Don’t you think they’ll bring back Abreu and Pettitte if both are willing and have reasonably good seasons, though? There’s no real replacement in right field for Abreu and Pettitte is a reliable pitcher — you never want to cast those types aside cavalierly, no matter how good the young trio of pitchers is.
I have a hard time seeing The New York Yankees putting Melky in right and handing center to Austin Jackson or something like that.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I think they’ll want Pettitte back, but he might be looking to retire or return home to Houston. As for Abreu, agreed, if he has another solid year they should look to re-sign him. Maybe if Tabata or A Jax have an absolute monster season they won’t look to bring him back, but that’s unlikely.
The optimal Yankee strategy with FAs should be to sign guys to fewer years for greater yearly values. That way they don’t end up with dead weight who need ABs. They certainly will have the money to pay for that luxury. I’d love for them to look to bring in Dunn to DH/play some LF or RF as well, and he’s a prime example of someone who I would like for them to pay a lot to for a few years. Players like him tend to fall off cliffs.
Imagine…
1. Jeter SS
2. Abreu RF
3. Teix 1B
4. A Rod 3B
5. Dunn DH
6. Cano 2B
7. Posada C
8. Matsui/Damon LF
9. Melky CF
C.C. P