While some MLB teams have already assured themselves nine-figure payrolls in 2013, others have barely made $10MM in commitments for next year. MLBTR's recent contract issues series detailed teams' 2013 payroll commitments using data at Cot's Baseball Contracts. I've compiled a team by team breakdown of the 2013 payroll commitments around MLB. Keep in mind that these figures don't include club or vesting options or figures for players whose salaries will be determined via the arbitration process. Here's the list, starting with the largest commitments:
- Yankees: $119MM
- Phillies: $113MM
- Red Sox: $108MM
- Dodgers: $103MM
- Angels: $92MM
- Tigers: $87MM
- Marlins: $85MM
- Cardinals: $85MM
- Rangers: $84MM
- Giants: $81MM
- White Sox: $79MM
- Reds: $74MM
- Twins: $65MM
- Mets: $55MM
- Orioles: $53MM
- Blue Jays: $52MM
- Nationals: $52MM
- Brewers: $52MM
- Rockies: $46MM
- Diamondbacks: $45MM
- Mariners: $40MM
- Royals: $35MM
- Cubs: $35MM
- Athletics: $29MM
- Rays: $19MM
- Pirates: $19MM
- Astros: $17MM
- Braves: $15MM
- Indians: $11MM
- Padres: $11MM
The mean commitment for 2013 is $58.7MM.
dandretti
Gotta love where the Braves are on that list. Lot’s of flexibility to make things happen.
User 4245925809
Hope they choose better FA than Uggs and Lowe.
Jeff 31
Uggla hasn’t been bad. I do worry about the last year or 2 of the deal, but he’s been worth the money so far, barely.
User 4245925809
Uggs is actually a favorite of mine.. Like from his marlin days.. He’s ok, just think his year 1 of that huge contract got to him a little and do wish he had gone someplace where his good RH power would have played a bit better.. Him and Ross both played too long at awful places for their power.. Willingham was the only power bat to get out soon enough (DC) and show their ability early.
Sky14
Uggla was a trade and hasn’t been bad at all
User 4245925809
Technically it was. Uggs was going to walk after the year. Fish had held talks and there was no way he was coming back. They had broken down in negotiations over the length of the deal. yeah.. FA was wrong use of the word.. Infante and Dunn (Mike) was pretty much a giveaway you have to admit if it was a real “trade” for someone on the field for a given number of years, but Atlanta had to sign him to that extension in order to keep him beyond that 2011 season.
Fangaffes
Lowe is having a fine season. Maybe the problem wasn’t the players.
a5ehren
He had good 2-month stretches with the Braves as well. Just give it some time, and he’ll be sucking again.
Jeff 31
Lots of needs, and lots of arb 1’s coming up though.
Heyward will likely earn about 3, Kimbrel about 2-3, Venters about 2
You also got to re-sign Prado, Bourn, and McCann (and Prado is just as important as the other two)
monkeydung
not super familiar with other teams payrolls, but not that excited that 2013 the Dodgers will be paying $43MM for Billingsley, Harrang, Lilly, Uribe, Guerrier, Manny, and Andruw Jones.
Mike R Christian
Yanks $119
Rays $19
Amazing. Gotta give credit to the Rays.
Rangersalchamps
Hopefully they get a Legit(much better than Pena and Scott) bat or two to help out Longo next year. could get them to the W.S with that pitching.
Every team should envy them though
Jon Stark
wow, check out those Royals. They have more committed than the cubs, crazy.
cubs27
and over half of that is to soriano lol
Tom W
The key word here is ‘commitment’. These are not ’13 payrolls its whats on the books so far.
Novak
Not to mention, many of the “smaller commitment” teams have a lot of young players, so that means more arbitration for them to muddle through.
Tom W
Exactly.
User 4245925809
Check out the NYY and Philly especially with the amounts not even tagged for people who have either options, or will walk and holes to fill should they leave.
See no way either payroll there goes down 1 bit and Boston iffy, unless they move Youk.. Maybe Ellsbury as well if they make moves in other directions on the team.
andrewyf
Well, the commitment is hard contract commitments. Younger teams where a majority of their players are still arbitration-eligible, those values do not show up on this table. So Cano’s $15M and Ellsbury’s ~$13M will not show up under NYY and BOS, respectively, since neither team technically has to pay them next year.
User 4245925809
I understood that. It was the “soft” money being played with that has
both Philly and NYY especially and Boston to a lesser degree against a
wall already. I tallied up 158m with 3 for the NYY as an example. 15m
Cano, 13m Grandy and Rivera returning for paycut to just 10m. That
leaves NY with arbitration raises, RF,C and several other places to
fill. It’s going to be hard to get down to 189m recall Cash as a goal
for 2013.
MB923
The goal is for after the 2013 season, not for it.
After 2013, Soriano’s contract is up, Burnett’s is up, A-Rod gets a small decrease, Jeter assuming he tends to play in 2014 will have $9 million come off
User 4245925809
Thanks. I thought it was for this coming season and was wondering how was going to pull it off.
MB923
No problem. But it is going to be tough regardless. If they want to keep Cano, Granderson and Swisher on the team, that’s going to take up another good part of it. Not to mention there could be more rotation and bullpen holes to fill by then.
ARod's Ring
Sign Melky! forget about swisher.
MB923
I got a feeling the Giants would extend him, but if they don’t, I would not mind having him back. For one thing he can do what almost no current Yankee can do, and that’s hit with RISP.
I’d be surprised though if the Giants did not extend him assuming he had a good slash line at the end of the year.
ARod's Ring
Maybe his relationship with cano, and the fact that we need a corner outfielder would make him comeback with vengeance to prove a point. a clear #2 hitter that brings a lot of energy and charisma as well.
timm-2
cash is betting on the b’s filling the rotation. if that doesn’t happen there is no way they get under. Of they 3 Swisher is the odd man out as much as I like the guy.
MB923
Not necessarily both. CC, Nova, Hughes (assuming he stays in the rotation) and Pineda (assuming he’s back healthy and ready) already make up 4. I heard they want to plan in the long run to make Phelps a starter as well but not sure I seeing that lasting. I don’t see Betances staying in the rotation. If either, it would be Banuelos.
captainjeter
this year you got Swishers 10.250, Kuroda’s 10 , Garcia’s 4 million. Rivera’s 15 million, Chavez and Jones total are 3 million . Ibanez is 1 million, add to that losing 12 million from trading Burnett. Yanks have at least 55.250 million coming off the boards.
Joba, Gardner are not getting much of an arbitration raise due to injury and neither is Pineda. Hughes and Nova will receive modest raises.
after 2013- You got Cano’s 15 million., Grandersen’s 13 million , Burnett’s remaining 20 million , Jeter’s contract goes down 9 million. ARod’s start a slow decline, going down 1 million. That is at least 57 million off the books after 2013.
109.250 million off the books by 2014. Of course some of that money will be spent.
But, I figure at least 40 million stays off the books With the current payroll of 197 million, 157 is doable.
Most likely the payroll for 2014 will be 180 million,
User 4245925809
That is if they do not go major SP shopping between now and then. Not just picking on NY now.. Don’t get me wrong.. I am advocating Boston moving Ells over the winter (if he comes back strong 2nd half of the season) and either resigning Ross, or getting another fairly reasonable RH bat to go along with Sweeny/Kalish/CC mix.. Then thinking over the Youkilis option, if he’s not traded and saving all of that for a Hamels/Sanchez/Grienke type upgrade.
The situations are kind of the same, just not as dire don’t think with Matsuzaka coming off of the books and Ortiz they can make their minds up on bringing back again, same with youk.
CandyMaldonadoLand
Sorry guys, still trying to get over the retirement of Phil Dumatrait…
BoltWagon
Wow the Pads are last on the list, you would never know from their record this year ….
glamisdave05
I thought Petco Park was supposed to bring UP the payroll for the Padres. They paid that much for Klesko and Nevin while in Qualcomm.
AaronAngst
It’s weird to see the Marlins that high on the list – with the way things are going, it seems likely that they’ve overextended themselves. Baseball and South Florida don’t mix.
dapoktan
the new york yankees are ruining baseball.
/sarcasm
MB923
Weren’t the Marlins at the bottom for last year, if not 2 years ago? From 30th to 7th in 1-2 years is quite a boost.
Nicky W
This list would have been much more helpful if they included the number of players each team is committed to next year.