Sabathia Signs With Yankees

Just glad this deal is over and done with.

George..
Why is it more likely he is hurt or sucks? Its a serious question..what have you seen from him that makes it "far more likely"?

George Purcell,

Sabathia being hurt or sucky in the first 3 years is a possibility whether he has the opt-out clause or not. I don't see how this relates at all.

If there is no opt-out clause, he can still suck and be on the hook for all 7 years. But now there's a chance that he opts-out after 3 and bails the Yankees out of the last 4 years of the deal.

You still haven't explained why that's a bad thing.

soxmenace:

Nice way to blow money away on a left handed pitcher.....I remember barry zito was the cy young award winner and got signed to the giants and was never the same, HOPE THIS DON'T END THE SAME BUT WORTH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
________________________

Can you bring something better to the conversation? Barry Zito was washed up when he signed his FA deal and while he was a CY Young winner that was 5 years earlier when he was 24!! Even the Yanks passed on Zito. In fact they were never even considering signing Zito because it was obvious that he was on the down trend. His fastball was pushing 85-89 mph tops. And someone tell me please....who was bidding against the Giants that year?

"If CC, and more importantly, CC's wife like it here and he continues to be the player he's been then maybe they stay, retructure, whatever. If he struggles or can't stand the heat, then the Yanks and CC shake hands and part ways."

Um, no. Cf. Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown.

George..
I agree, pitchers do get hurt, but they can get hurt in year one (see Hughes, Phil) or they can get hurt..well, never (see Lowe, Derek). But the Yanks needed an ace and did what they needed to do to get the best one available.
I posted earlier..the best thing about having the Yankees cash flow is the ability to give guys a long term deal to reap the short term benefits. If her gives us 4 or 5 good years (his age says these years should be his prime), they wont have an issue with eating years 6 & 7.

Fenton,
So how many runs does character drive in? Exactly...all I know is all through the playoffs, as your piece of garbage team was winning, the team and the fans couldn't stop talking about the Mets. You guys have some inferiority complex, huh...Get over the Mets and worry about your own team.

78, your argument makes no sense for one obvious reason. CC can choose to opt out but the yankees cannot opt him out. If he struggles then why is he going to opt out of an incredibly lucrative contract. Makes no sense. The opt out is bad for the yankees. All that really means is 3 years from now CC gets a raise if he continues to pitch well.

This is A-Rod part II.

In both cases, the Yanks signed the best talent available. There is no doubt that CC is a lights out pitcher. Great move from that perspective.

On the other hand, why don't people WANT to play for the Yanks? Granted we don't have all the details, but the published reports indicate that the Yanks paid about $50m more than the next closest bidder. Same exact thing they did with A-Rod.

If everyone is so excited to play in NY why are the Yanks constantly having to pay such a high tax to acquire players?

Sigh. There really is no point arguing with you about this, but let me try one last time.

By offering a seven year contract the Yankees are taking a considerable risk. Part of the compensation for that risk in a true seven-year contract is that they would receive below-market rates for Sabathia's performance in the ending years of his contract. The opt-out clause eliminates that possibility and thus the overall financial risk to the Yankees from the contract is increased significantly.

Could it work out in the Yankees favor in the end? Sure. But that isn't the way to bet.

George:

The post just said that CC wanted a 3 year opt out regardless of where he signed. If he has a great 3 year run with the Yanks and gives the Yanks what they need/want and then decides to leave then so be it. We got what we wanted for 3 years. If he wasn't going to sign with us w/o the opt out then what more is there to discuss?

I just heard on WEEI (the biggest sports radio station in Boston) that the Yanks are closing in on a 4 year deal with Derek Lowe. They were unsure on the $

Not sure how solid that is, so take it for what it's worth.

Boston belongs to Me: Signing and bringing in a bunch of mega stars ALREADY DID NOT WORK. it's caled a clubhouse and we already had the Giuambi's and Pavano's and Sheffields and you know what, it didn't work.

We have two front line pitchers in Joba and Hughes. That;'s their projection by real baseball talen evaluaters.

I don't understand no one ever lieks my opinion, which is fine. But I'm the one who works for a ML team.

i'm sorry if this isn't fantasy baseball and there's an economy, a budget, a clash of egos and many other things to consider than say

oh yea sign burnett, sign lowe, hell lets sign k-rod now to a 7 yr deal that way when Mo is gone, we have the next best thing.

This is not MLB2K8. I understand this is a rumor site, but lets cut the crap that the yankees have a bottomless wallet and that free agency is always the answer to fill a hole.

Not to mention we have a plethora of power arms and a trade is not out of the question.

if we actually gave arbitration to Marte and let his weak ass go along with gimabi and Abreu, we could have actually gotten about 205 draft picks in compensation. instead you knew they were going to overpay for Sabathia. Everyone has been saying it and now everyones shocked. The Yankees were going to do every thing they could to get someone to compete with beckett and Shields and they have it.

The opt-out is just another way to cater to him and make him want to come here so he does not have to feel stuck here.

But let's see, we're 3 for 3 in opt-outs with only A-Rod reminaing with his team and we have yet to see Burnett. But JD Drew is now the template for opt-out clauses and their potential impacts.

Cano, melky and ian Kennedy are all available in the right package for the right player. So is Austin Jackson.

There's no need for Burnett or Lowe. At all.

''"A guy who averages 225 hits a season"

Mostly singles.

A LEAD OFF GUYS JOB IS TO GET ON BASE AND GET INTO SCORING POSITION. ICHIRO GETS ON BASE AN AVERAGE OF 273 TIMES IN A SEASON. IN THOSE 273 TIMES HE GETS INTO SCORING POSITION WITH OUT THE HELP OF ANY OTHER HITTER VIA XBH AND STEALS OF 2ND OVER 80 TIMES PER SEASON.DAMON GOT ON BASE LAST YEAR 221 TIMES AND MOVED HIMSELF INTO SCORING POSITION LESS THAN 60 TIMES.

"25 doubles"

That is not good. In fact, it is pretty horrible considering how many AB.

"8 triples"

Let's go sign Cristian Guzman!

"a .375 obp, 40sb with 9 cs"

Not bad.
375 OBP = DAMON LAST YEAR DAMON STOLE 29 WHILE BEING CAUGHT 8 TIMES ADVANTAGE ICHIRO

"110 runs, Ks less than 10%"

Not useful stats unless you want to talk about his BA, which you already do.
VERY USEFUL ACTUALLY BECAUSE DAMON STRUCK OUT (OR HAD NO CHANCE AT PUTTING THE BALL IN PLAY 20% OF THE TIME COMPARED TO ICHIROS 10%

"who is the best defensive outfielder in baseball with a great throwing arm"

He is not the best defensive OF in baseball by a longshot.

NME ANOTHER OUTFIELDER WHO IS AS GOOD AS ICHIRO AS AN ALL AROUND DEFENSIVE PLAYER. BELTRAN YES BUT THATS ABOUT IT

"is over rated at the same figure we paid Abreu last season."

Yes.

Posted by: CubbyFan23 | December 10, 2008 at 10:50 AM''

ALSO IM NOT SURE IF THROWING ARMS ARE THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU BUT I ONCE SAW CARL CRAWFORD SCORE ON A SACRAFICE FLY FROM SECOND BASE BECAUSE DAMONS ARM IS SO WEAK. THATS RIGHT SCORED FROM SECOND ON A SAC FLY

The Brewers could not have had the next highest offer, right?

How do you go from 5/100~ to 7/160??

I don't know what people don't understand.

He would have onl costed 20M but the Yankees knew that in order to balance his decision in his favor they had to add some weight tot he yankee side.

Thank iof it as a damns cale.

SoCal + 20M annual = happy.

NY + 140M does not = happy.

NY + 161M = happy.

And by the way, what other formal offers were even made? where did you think he would end up? The Giants couldnt afford a 6th yr, nor could the Brewers but they ponied up $100M. The guys talkin about SoCal, you really think then he wants to be in Milwaukee. Come on.

walkoffblast:

Yes, the opt out clause favors the player but why does it matter? If CC wanted the option, and according to GM Bob Melvin he wanted an opt out from the Brewers as well, then so be it. IT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It's quite obvious that a player has a way of getting away from a team that he no longer wants to be a part of (see Man-NY). I know that CC isn't that kind of guy but no team wants to keep a player who is unhappy.

A) CC has 3 great years, opts out and either the Yanks have to re-negotiate or see him walk.

Yanks, in effect, signed CC to a 3 yr/69 mil deal and had an ace pitcher for 3 years.

B) He sucks and decides to opt out and leave NY.

Yanks, cut their losses and move on.

C) He sucks and decides to stay.

Well isn't that the same result than if there were no opt out clause?

So to sum it up CC wanted a opt out PERIOD from anybody. The only rish they have now vs if they didn't give him an opt out is that after 3 years he can leave and the Yanks can take their 92 mil and apply it elsewhere.

What is the downside here people?

^^^

That is very true. If the next best offer on the table was 5/100 and he signed for 7/160, it bodes well for other FA's.

I understand he wanted to play on the west coast but 2 years and 60 million dollars? It's a good signing, no doubt about that, but some shaky negotiating.

"There is no positive aspect to the player option for the Yankees. None."

CC's prime is spent in NY, they are not stuck paying ridiculous money for his decline.

If someone asked me do I want to pay a CY Young award winner 3 years 69 million, and then watch him leave at the start of his decline I'd be all over that in half a heartbeat.

You people are riduclous. Is there anyone here that feels that CC would've signed for less than Zito or Santana? Either you're being naive or you don't understand the business of baseball.

I'll call my shot. Tex will not sign for less than what Man-NY signed for with Boston which was 8/160.

The only reason why Peavy signed w/ the padres for what he signed for was becuase he wasn't on the open market. Webb, Beckett, etc wille clipse what Sabathia signed for if they continue to win Cy Young awards and 18+ win seasons.

Sabathia wanting to play in Cali DOES NOT = Sabathia did not want to play in NY but rather Sabathia didn't want to play ANYWHERE OTHER THAN CALIFORNIA. It was obvious that the other Cali teams, for various reasons, couldn't afford him (Giants because of Zito), Dodgers (too many holes and not enough cash) or the ANgels (pitching not a need and focused on Tex). Cashman wanted to secure his needs immediately and probably said, "If I added an extra year can we get this done"? I have no problem with that. If you know what you want and you know what you're willing to pay, then why play agmes?

And for the record can someone please tell me one player that the Yanks wanted, went after and shunned us to sign elsewhere for the same or less money?

Yanksfan

Stop getting so worked up, remember you're just a fan. We don't need these half page tirades every time you disagree with us.

The 3 year opt out could be bad or could be good, we don't know what life 3 years from now we'll be. If we're in a depression, which sadly is a legitimate threat, I'm not leaving 100 million dollars on the table nor do I think baseball teams will hand out that kind of cash.

Then again it could work out perfectly for NY.

Either way you just try calming down.

I agree with yanksFan78.

You also have to think, salaries are going to rise.

Look at Roy Oswalt. I remember he was the talk of the indsutry when he signed a 5yr 75M deal. I believe that was during a season or right before a season. That off-season, some pitcher signed a ridiculous deal. Right now, Oswalt is a steal if the yankees are about to pay Derek Lowe about the same thing.

Say Sabathia doesnt suck and doesnt get even more fat, if he does stay an ace for the next 4-5 years, he may not look as bad when Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford hit the market. Jake Peavy is now talking an extension if he gets traded. You don't think he'll want "Sabathia" money? Imean thisis history people. Same every year.

A few years ago the Mets raised the bar for the cost of a 3rd starter. They gave Benson that 3yr/ 21M deal. then what happened? jon liweber got 3 years 20M, Jaret wright got 3 yrs/20M I think Adam Eaton and others.

Yesm, the yankees bet against thesmself with Arod and that one really I did not get. no one was going to top 250 but whatever, not my money.

But this. We had to overpay to get him. And now that we did, we just raised the bar for the price of an ace. every ace now that is about to hit the market will get dollars close to, or more than, Sabathia. Felix Hernandez comes to mind, is Roy halladay locked up? next year we;re going to be talking about how could team X give Player Y a 7 year 175M deal.

If you continue this theory, theoretically, there's goign to be a time when a player will command 50M a season. I'm not saying we'll see it, but in theory...

Kenan_Kel:

I'm cool dude. I'm sitting back sipping on a Mohito, closing deals on my blackberry as we speak (yeah I know it's early but it's happy hour somewhere right?). (cough, cough) Hold on a sec...(cough, cough) I need to open a window (cough, cough), It's just that the stench from the hypocrisy in this room is stifling (cough, cough). (window opens and in wafts the air of reason and sensibility). I'm good.

"B) He sucks and decides to opt out and leave NY."

Chance of occuring: 0.0%.

Actually, I don't think the PA would allow it even if Sabathia were so inclined.

"And for the record can someone please tell me one player that the Yanks wanted, went after and shunned us to sign elsewhere for the same or less money?"

Didn't Andy Pettitte do that for his first gig in Houston? I could have sworn he left money on the table to go to Houston. I may be wrong though.

Here's something I thought was really odd. Someone earlier said the Yankees should go sign AJ, Lowe and Sheets and everybody mocked him.

Can someone honestly explain to me why they couldn't or wouldn't?

I grabbed a bunch of the current salaries, and assumed the following for those 4 new guys:

CC ~ 23.5M average
AJ + Lowe + Sheets ~ 50M total average.

If you add that 73.5M per year to the existing Yankee rosters (minus excpected arb bonuses and such), the Yankee payroll before luxury tax only goes up about 20M.

I calculated it at around $228M for all four of those additions, when they spent about $208M last year.

To me, this says there is NO way they are out of the Tex market. Would the Yankees really bat an eyelash at increasing last year's payroll by about $20M?

Yankee fans may not want them to do that, and rather focus on reducing payroll and overspending only in cases like this--where you nail down the #1 available free agent, and while I agree with that philosophy, I don't see them as being unable to go nuts in the FA market right now if they felt like it.

I thought the idea was quite interesting. To me, I'd definitely think there's no way they would completely be out of the running for anyone until ink is dry with another team.

So my question, Yankee fans:

"How would YOU feel if the Yankees did do something like this, and signed 4 of the 5 of CC, Tex, AJ, Lowe, and Sheets knowing it'd only increase the 2009 payroll by about $30M over the $208M they spent in 2008?"

The Yankees want to cut payroll, not increase it. They will certainly not increase it by $20 million.

Believe it or not, the Yankees do have some budget limitations.

I can see them possibly signing Sabathia, Lowe and Sheets, but that's it. Teix won't be a Yankee, although I'd love it if he were.

In theory the opt-out hurts the Yankees because the player is the only one with the option.

But #1 - if he would sign at $69/3 years, at least a third of the teams in baseball would jump at that deal.

#2 - if he performs so well that the wants to opt-out because he think he'll get more than $92M/4, then the Yankees got way more than their money's worth for the first 3 years.

#3 - if he dislikes NY so much that he wants to opt-out, then we wouldn't want him anyway.

So no, the opt-out clause really doesn't hurt at all. It COULD help, if he overestimates his market value in 2011, though this is unlikely.

How do you get more than your moneys worth on 23 million a year for a pitcher?

Because if he pitched so well that at age 30 he could sign another big contract then he probably pitched his ass off for those 3 years.

SaberGuy,

I hope you like knives because if you looked at the numbers you would know why.

I know someone will try and rip me for this but lets make general statements right now:

Lowe: I posted way back lowe's splits the last 4 years. The yankees dont have as good as an offense as the Dodgers, and a lot more runs are produced in their stadium, not to mention a DH. the numbers were already posted for Lowe, go look at them. $17M for a thirs starter,

Burnett; the guys has been in the leagues almost 10 years. He's played 2 full seasons and won 18 games once. Sure, live arm, had a bunch of hype around him all the time but he's soft. He's a glorified pavano. Remember Pavano? That's why.

And what;s wrong with cutting some payroll? We have two great pitchers in joba and Hughes (Joba has only been in the bullpen on the NY Yankees. never in his life was he ever NOT a starter so to say that's where he belongs is stupid. If pedro or ramdy Johnson in their prime came in and pitched one inning I'm sure they would have had sick dominant numbers too, but a)they're starters and best utilized throwing 200 innings and b)those guys that throw 100mph for one inning and expensable, as the Royals are showing us.

There's no reason we cant trot out a team with a 150M payroll and dominate.

There's no reason to sign these guys. this isnt fantasy baseball,this isnt Xbox. There's an economy, theres a budget, there are players and egos that dont get along....people ebfore you post, read through. All these bad statements have been poked through numerous times.

YOU DONT JUST SIGN EVERYONE AND ANYONE THIS IS OT A FANTASY LEAGUE.

By your logic, why dont the yankees dig up babe Ruth? Why dont the yankees make a Japanese team, andinstead of waiting for players to post, they can riad their own japanese team! Why don't they put the walls on retractable layers and when the away temam comes up, we can push back the fence 40 feet, why dont we control the wind so no one hits a home run.

to an intelligent baseball numbers person our claim of "why not sign everyone" sounds as ridiculous as what I just said.

And if you dont get it, then you just dont get it.

About 10 posts ago I talked about the salaries rising and how Sabathia can look like a steal. Used oswalt, benson as exmaples. Rather than regurgitating my idea/statement, why dont you make a comment about it or add to the discussion otherwise you're unwelcoming adding to the length of the topic and I'm tired of scrolling and reading comments that lack a basic understanding of the fundamentals of mgmt

bobo your logic is tragically flawed I will not even begin to teach you remedial kindgarten. suffice to say by your logic barry zito was worth more than his contract last year.

To others even if sabathia pitches his ass off (which is a hell of a lot of pitching I might add) it is pretty doubtful he exceeds 23 million dollars worth of production.

To the few of you on here that are actually capable of putting together articulate, thoughtful comments...good stuff.

Allow me to submit a question though...Yankees fans are saying that if CC pitches great for 3 years and then leaves for somewhere else that you will just cut your losses and look elsewhere. However, I have a hard time believing that the NY front office will really wash their hands of him. They have showed in the past that they are more than willing to persue older starting pitcher, so what makes you believe that they would be willing to part with Sabathia? I can certainly see them getting right back in the mix and paying more money than they had originally anticipated for his older seasons...but maybe that's just me. Would love to hear some other people's opinions.

Thanks in advance.

Question: Can opt-out clauses be exercised by the team, or is it player only? I thought only the player could exercise the opt-out clause.

Melonis- opt out clauses are exclusively used for players excercise only.

I hope the Rays win the division next year by double digits...

Smolt:

Plain and simple. If CC has 3 fantasic years and opts out then the Yanks might try to resign him and pay him what he's worth at that time, same as any other team. Also, if he decideds to opt out there might be other teams, especially the west coast teams that may have missed out our were not prepared, that might be competition later. But bottom line is, would CC have signed with us w/o the opt out clause. PLEASE keep in mind that according to Brew's GM Bob Melvin, CC wanted an opt out clause as well and they were willign to give it to him too.

I thought players decide opt out clauses. In that case, the Yanks front office will have no say so in CC. Someone care to clarify.

Burnett just excersised his opt out clause, so I assume when they say it is a 'player's opt out clause', it means just that. Yes...no?

The yankees have no say in his opt out clause in case some of you cannot figure that out for some reason.

78, why do you always get on these threads and repeat yourself so much. No one is talking about if they had a choice in giving him the clause, they are talking about how it affects things going forward.

Joba is better than lester and buccholz, lester is better than hughes and hughes/ buccholz is a toss up as both had terrible seasons last year.

walkoffblast wrote:

smoltz beard, that is what we have been trying to explain to them but apparently yankees fans are incapable of inferring the obvious.
__________________________

You're being very condesending now.

Simple fact: CC wanted an opt out in any deal he considered (not coming from a Cali team). He asked for one from the Brewers and the Yanks.

W/o the opt out and possibly the 7th year then maybe CC sits around to see where the Angels end up with Tex, the DOdgers with Furcal and Man-NY or what the Giants were willing to do.

If he has 3 great years and then leaves, quite honestly, most fans would be sorry to see him go, but for those 3 years we had one of the best SP in the games and that's the bottom line.

If the Yanks signed CC for 3/75 million do you honestly think that any fan would be upset because they didn't sign him for more than 3 years?

We have 3 more years of Rivera, Posada and possibly Jeter. The Yanks are trying to win now! CC and whoever else we get this winter gives us a great chance. The fact that they can rebuild their staff w/o giving up a single prospect is even better.

CC
Burnett/Lowe/Perez/Sheets
Wang
Joba

vs

Beckett
Matsuzaka
Lester
Wakefield

vs

Kazmir
Shields
Garza
Sonnanstine/Jackson

matches up very well.

Sabe,

I hear ya. No problem. Some other people are sayin we should legitimately sign Burnett Lowe and Sheets. I saw someone had Furcal at 2B on their projected lineup so it was getting rather anoying.

I don't think the Yankees are out of the tex sweepstakes and I dont think they need to be.

I just do not agree, at all, in signing any other pitchers unless it's jon garland for a 3 yr deal or less and at or under 12M, or Andy Pettitte to fill that final hole.

Give me Pettitte or garland for the final hole, and tex at first. OK, Tex at first is a bit much but I agree with you then, they could keep going but I just dont' see Posada being able to play catcher. I think with Matusi-Damon-Posada we have too many hitting oriented players who cant run and cant throw. bringing in tex would clog Posada, damon and matsui's chance to play first and get some at bats, especially now that they have Swisher.

Unless Swisher plays first. Then you go hard for that Cano-Kemp deal, stick Kemp in center, nady in right Damon/Matsui in left, Posada/Matsui/Damon at DH and sig orlando "Defense is my middle name' Hudson for 2b.

Not everyone we sign though has to be a superstar. Hel, I'd love to grab a Greg Zaun for the hell of hit. But everyone wants a Michael Barret. Name recognition is so 90s.

There is a difference between an opt out clause and an option. A team option allows the team to void the remainder of the contract. I'm under the impression this is a player opt-out clause, as Rosenthal mentions nothing about the Yanks being able to void the contract after 3 years. This is exactly what he said, "One rival executive points out there is "no upside" to giving a player an opt-out clause such as the Yankees are doing for CC Sabathia.

If he performs well, Sabathia will likely exercise the opt-out after the third year and become a free agent. If he does not perform well or is injured, the Yankees are on the hook for the rest of his contract."

Anyone else find it amusing how 78 typically starts with one idea and keeps making longer and longer posts about the same idea no matter what other people are actually discussing.

re: the opt-out clause - the way it is written in this post is misleading. It implies that there is no upside for the player. The quote from the executive said that there was no upside to the team.

In theory, any kind of option only increases the value of the contract to the side with the option. However, if the Yankees and Sabathia disagree on his value after the 3rd year, then it can benefit the Yankees.

For example, after 2011, the Yankees think he is worth $18M a year, and would sign him to a 4 year, $72M deal, but not a 4 year, $92M deal.

Sabathia thinks he is worth $28M a year, and would sign a 4 year, $112M deal, but not a 4 year $92M year.

He opts-out, and can try to find his money elsewhere. Maybe he does, and both sides win. Maybe he doesn't, and only the Yankees win.

However it's very unlikely that the team and player will disagree on the player's value by anything close to that much.

Stat Man, why are you enamored with Garland? You think he's going to amount to anything in the AL East? Keep him away, please.

Burnett has the ability to carry a pitching staff. His stuff is second to none. But there are obvious risks.

Lowe is a very sound pitcher. Will he dominate? No. But you know what you're getting. Maybe 4 years is a bit too long.

Sheets is at a cheaper cost, has some risk and potential for big reward. Like Burnett, but cheaper and less serious injuries.

"Most of Ben's injuries were flukes, unlike Burnett who has had trouble relating to his arms."

Between 01-04, Sheets pitched 824 innings. Since then, his injury history is as follows:

05- Torn muscle in right, throwing shoulder.
Offseason back surgery
06- Starts yr on DL with Shoulder Strain on R shoulder
Misses 72 games with shoulder tendinitis
07- Torn tendon in finger on R hand (fluke injury)
Hamstring Strain
08- Strained tricep (which could be the result of rotator cuff damage)
Groin tightness
Elbow pain

To me, all signs point to this guy being overworked too early in his career and now he has trouble staying healthy. What worries me most is the number of injuries to his throwing shoulder/arm/elbow. I was doing some research on him and one was saying his arm slot is too high, which results in added stress to the shoulder/elbow.

Ben has plenty of arm related injuries every year. Buyer Beware!

LOL funny little fact:

Jeter (20 mil)
arod (27 mil)
rivera (15 mil)
sabathia (23 mil)

Top 4 yankees payroll: 85 million dollars.

Teams under 85 million dollar payroll:

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167
16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067
17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500
18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695
19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617
20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500
21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551
22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248
23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713
24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767
25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500
26.Washington Nationals $54,961,000
27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283
28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126
29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598
30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500

Papelboner,

That's what I thought. Especially when I noticed the 'no upside' comment.