2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.
Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.
We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Braves:
*Includes buyouts of club options over Ozzie Albies, Will Smith, Ender Inciarte, and Darren O’Day
(click to expand/view detail list)
What a steal of a contract with Acuna
And Albies.
And Albies
Gotta love MLB where paying a man $100 million dollars can be considered a “steal.”
Considering the amount of revenue that player is going to make for the team owner (a BILLIONAIRE), yeah it’s a steal.
Actually Braves aren’t owned by one person.
It is a steal considering his overall production+marketability is worth at least $300 million right now
Gotta love people who compare baseball players to normal people and not other baseball players.
Dave in accounting who played JV ball in high school would probably take $5mil.
Braves in FANTASTIC financial position going forward
And yet the Braves won’t spend a dime during the peak of a window to make a serious bid for a championship
Instead continuing to sign the Cole Hamels of every FA class and be content with first round exits
#TheBravesWay
Hey we signed will smith and Marcell Ozuna. AA is a different dude
Not to mention the prior off-season when we brought in Donaldson with the 4th highest AAV, then outbid others for Keuchel and swung deals for three respected bullpen arms with remaining contracts with significant dollars attached.
This nonsense about the Braves not spending money is ridiculous. They are just looking for the right deals and not trying to compete with the truly large market buyers that far overpay for talent.
The off-season is to build a playoff caliber team. The mid-season deals are to get said team deeper into the playoffs. Nothing is guaranteed and I think many people thought the Braves were right there with the Dodgers last year. Martin going down hurt them, but Freddy’s late season injury was probably an even bigger blow. All the money in the world doesn’t help there as the Braves would never have spent it on a plug and play guy to replace Freddy.
100% correct…..
The Braves had it set up perfectly and made the moves. Freddie hits 200 and is obviously hurt, If he had 5 or 6 more big hits then the series ends the other way.
In-Game 1 of the NDLS, the game was managed beautifully. Using Fried and Greene to make it to 8th inning was flawless and they Martin for the 8th and MM for the 9th and a 1 -0 series lead.
If Martin goes on in the 8th, I believe the Braves hold on and don’t give up 7 runs in the 8th and 9th and win Game 1. Foltz was masterful in Game and the Braves heads to St Louis needing only 1 of 3. Martin’s injury and Freddie playing hurt was the difference in the series and Game 5 never happened..
Their agents should be shot for convincing them to sign those contracts. Acuna would easily be worth close to $400 million by age 30 if he continues at his current pace.
Keep in mind it’s the player who decides when he signs and for what. The agent can only advise and work for the best possible contract.
What happens when pitchers figure him out and cannot adjust? What happens if he has a career ending injury? What happens if he flames out? Etc etc etc. he has guaranteed money that is enough for a lifetime.
Ur a dork. Life is to short to pass up $100 million when it’s offered to you. U wouldn’t do the same at all if u were in his shoes and lived his life
What I love is how fans drool over the owners when they sign Acuna and Albies on the cheap but then have a melt down when Manny and Harper are not getting the Brinks truck backed up for them
You cant win as an owner today. Spend too much, your investors will have be mad, spend too little the fans are mad
MY idea- Dont make any contract details public in the next CBA. Fine the team if they slip info (they wouldnt want too ) and have it be the players choice if they want to divulge thier own salary (most wouldnt)
Its really none of our business and I actually think it doesnt allow us to enjoy the game the way we once did in a more free spirit
I really think True baseball fans want to get back to the grass, dirt and crack of the bat more than combing thru payrolls and booing a guy like Albert Pujols bc you know hes not playing up to his salary
I really disagree with you on this point. As a Braves fan, when we were going through the rebuild, the off-season was was more fun to follow than the actual games. The Braves didn’t do a lot, but of course I followed everybody else too. I enjoy talking contracts, and who is going to sign a guy.
It’s also never impacted my enjoyment of the game. A guy can make 20m dollars and hit .200, I’m not going to boo him if he plays for my team. I couldn’t hit .200 in the Bigs. Haha. I probably couldn’t hit .020. My point being though these are the best of the best, and maybe he might “stink” relative to his peers- but he earns the money for being in an elite talent level.
I hear ya, but do we really need to know is the question?
What would you really lose if you didnt know? I dont think your the avg fan either….. If you just woke up from a coma of 20 years and asked how good of a player Albert Pujols was today do you think you would get accurate information? Miggy etc etc etc
You had people goin ape that Rendon will get payed more than Trout in 2 years in AAV in here a week ago…. I think it subtracts more than it adds… wouldnt you juts be Ok knowing you signed a guy for 4 yrs? Why do you really need the number figures with it? We would focus more on the game rather than contracts
I guess knowing the salaries and the offers during the Hot Stove season are somewhat like seeing runs go up on the scoreboard during a game- it gives me an idea of the score. If we didn’t know, I struggle to see how, during the off-season, we’d be able to take in as much news or rumors: because if these weren’t public, we wouldn’t know who was talking to who.
I do see your point how knowing the salary can create a bit of a clouded option of a player, for some fans. People say Pujols isn’t good because of the salary. They forget, I think, Pujols is older than advertised. So he’s playing at a pretty decent level for his age. Cabrera still offers something, too.
I think what impacts the enjoyment of the game more than the salary talk is all of the advanced stat crunching. I mean now we know for each 1 WAR, it’s valued at ‘X’ million dollars. So if a guy doesn’t realize that on a stat line, look out. Lol. I’m not saying stats are bad, but it’s sometimes forgotten that not every contribution can be measured by a stat.
There will always be a segment of the fanbase that’s just hard to please. Lol. Some of those same people upset Rendon will be making more than Trout in 2 yrs, will in turn flip on Mike at some point. Nature of the beast, I guess.
Totally hear ya, and as a nerd I too enjoy cutting up the info but I think Id be fine enough after a year of two of just being fed “Braves sign Donaldson to 4 yr contract”.
I know all I need to know
Things like “no trade clause” “team option 5th yr” “player option 5th yr” could be included but we never need a dollar figure imo- I know its a pipedream;
I
bucketbrew35, remember that Acuna is still very young. When his deal is up (assuming all options are picked up) he’ll just be finishing his age 30 season.
So, if he could be worth $400 million by age 30 (as you mentioned), he’ll still have a chance to get that type of contract considering he’ll just be entering his age 31 season having reached free agency.
He should have the opportunity to cash in twice on 9 figure deals, similar to what Mike Trout did.
Scared money don’t make money-
Its still in the works but imo ATL has played this all out a little too passive to date. I hated the offseason this year and that Melancoln trade was eye-raising to say the least last year. Letting JD go was a massive mistake as well
It hurts that most of Atls pitching prospects have flamed out. The plan wasnt to have to pay Hamels 18 mill this year and buy a lottery ticket on King Felix and still have the 4th best playoff staff in the Div at the moment-
But as any real surfer will tell you “Its only about the next wave” Waters/Pache should fill out that Of well. The payroll is amazing moving forward, and the next Rd of pitchers cant be as bad as the last (I do like Ian Anderson )..
Atl needs to take a stronger stance in free agency. Sure its nice that Ozuna and Hamels fall off this year but if thats the case how great was the signing in the first place? I thought Jd was a layup to resign….I think he did too….. Scared money dont make money. Push some chips into the Pot
Payroll situation is great. Problem is the Braves won’t spend long term on a badly needed free agent and haven’t had a true ace in years. Frustrating watching the Braves go out in the playoffs starting a #3-4 starter most years to open up a series against a true #1. I love Soroka but we’re never gonna make it deep unless we actually spend on a top free agent or 2.
My biggest concern this year was entrusting “Ace duties” on a 22-year-old who really has never struggled in the big leagues on a supposed championship contender.
I don’t say that to discredit Soroka or believe he’ll fail because he’s passed pretty much every test and showed he could rise in the postseason. My concern is making the assumption/expectation that Soroka will be the guy from day one. Hamels was a step in that direction, but he’s not the TOR arm he was ten years ago.
Corey Kluber would have been a dream acquisition to pair with Soroka at the top followed by wild cards/solid bets Fried and Folty.
If the Braves don’t win championship with Acuna and Albies on those contracts, it may be more embarrassing than winning one championship in 14 tries.
I never looked at it as embarrassing. I looked at the 90’s Braves as something special looking back. I dont even think that would be changed if they didnt get the solo ring-
Moving forward I have no problem if they never win it all but I would have a problem if they continue to just dip their toes in- Perhaps they are a little scared looking at what Ana did with Trout- They came out swinging early and now Pujols and Jup are really holding their payroll back from getting a staff. I understand the concerns but they have to put more than 1 foot in the water and the sooner the better imo as this team is ready to go NOW! Unlike ANA this team can breed their own so they can absorb a bad deal a little easier than Ana ever could
Two things: 1) The Braves have won their division two years in a row, have a much better young core than their rivals, and owe hundreds of millions less in long-term contract obligations. It’s really challenging to see their current front office get so little credit for what it has created. The playoffs are a crap shoot. It’s ten teams that all average winning roughly four games out of seven. The success of wildcard teams speaks to the somewhat random nature of postseason success. The Braves postseason chances would be better with an ace, but watching how big FA signings seem to work out, they may be as successful trying to raise one as they would be to buy an established one. 2) The Human Rain Delay is an awesome moniker. I wish I’d thought of it myself.