Five days ago the Associated Press published 2011 payrolls for the 30 teams based on information sent by the clubs to the commissioner's office.  They explain:

Figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values.

$2,999,557,280 was spent in total, so the $100MM or so spent by the Rangers or Mariners is about average.  The Yankees, of course, led with a $216MM figure.  That's 4.85 times the Royals' payroll, which was the lowest at about $45MM.  Maury Brown has quality analysis of over at The Biz of Baseball.  Below I thought it'd be interesting to break down the spending by league and division.

American League: $104.7MM per team

• AL East: $119.6MM per team
• AL Central: $90.5MM per team
• AL West: $103.9MM per team

National League: $95.8MM per team

• NL East: $105.9MM per team
• NL Central: $90.8MM per team
• NL West: $88.5MM per team

Baseball executives A.J. Hinch and Kenny Williams each batted around .219 in their big league careers.  That may help you visualize how I'm doing in MLBTR's free agent prediction contest this offseason.  With 7 of 32 correct, I currently rank 922nd out of over 5,000 entries.  In contrast, MLBTR readers Kay Jay, David Silverberg, Alex Gregor, and Shaun O'Toole lead the pack, pulling .375 averages that even Ty Cobb couldn't manage in his career.

A look at my October 31st predictions also shows that top 25 free agents Prince Fielder, Edwin Jackson, Ryan Madson, Hiroki Kuroda, Carlos Pena, Roy Oswalt, Javier Vazquez, Coco Crisp, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Paul Maholm remain unsigned.  It's no coincidence that half of them are represented by the Boras Corporation.  Here are some possibilities for the 10 best free agents still on the market.

2.  Prince Fielder – $153MM over six years might allow Boras to save face, claiming the second-highest average annual value in baseball history even if it'd mean falling well short of the $200MM landmark.  Obviously, $180MM over seven years would be better and isn't crazy, while an opt-out could sweeten the deal for Fielder and let him hit free agency again as a 30-year-old.  As MLB.com's Richard Justice notes, the market for Fielder is plain mysterious at this point.  If there's an obvious candidate to vastly overpay for Fielder, they've yet to be revealed.  The Orioles, Mariners, and Cubs are in the mix to some extent.  Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has recently mentioned the Nationals and Rangers, though those teams are viewed as unlikely by other reporters.  The Cubs and Mariners remain the current favorites. 

6.  Edwin Jackson – Though his pitching record won't change, Jackson will look more and more appealing over the next few weeks to teams looking for a rotation upgrade.  In a December 25th MLBTR poll of almost 17,000 MLBTR readers, the Yankees were the top pick with 19% of a well-divided vote.  Four days ago, Heyman named the Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rockies, Marlins, and Tigers as teams looking for pitching.  The Pirates could be a dark horse, and if the Jackson market dips to around three years and $33MM more teams may jump in.  For EJax, things are just getting started.

14.  Ryan Madson – The Red Sox and Angels have been linked to Madson, who may or may not have been offered four years and $44MM by the Phillies before they signed Jonathan Papelbon.  If Madson is to find three years and $30MM, the Red Sox and Angels will have to start a bidding war.

15.  Hiroki Kuroda – If the Yankees take a pass, Kuroda could fall to the Red Sox, Cubs, or Hiroshima Carp.  One would think a half-dozen other teams would be in the mix for Kuroda on a one-year deal.

16.  Carlos Pena – It's been quiet on the Pena front, but he could work for the Rays, Indians, Cubs, or Brewers if the price falls.  I think another one-year deal is in order.

18.  Roy Oswalt – Six days ago, Heyman named the Red Sox, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Yankees as Oswalt suitors, excluding other teams that acquired starters since then.  On a one-year deal, any would-be contender could conceivably jump in.

19.  Javier Vazquez – Four days ago, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro said Vazquez maintains he is retiring.

21.  Coco Crisp – Crisp seeks a multiyear deal from a contender, and the Cubs and Dodgers could be possibilities.  The Marlins or Nationals could offer him the chance to stay in center field.

22.  Hisashi Iwakuma – My ranking for Iwakuma was probably too high; he might be looking at a one-year deal.  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported two teams have viable interest in the righty, but the A's are lukewarm on him.

25.  Paul Maholm – I think Maholm will be able to find a two-year contract.  The Cubs were in the mix prior to adding Travis Wood and Andy Sonnanstine.  The Rockies have options, but they could still be a fit.  

Want to be the first to know where Prince Fielder, Carlos Beltran, and Gio Gonzalez land?  MLBTR is already coming at you from many angles, and now we have an option to receive text message alerts on your mobile phone.  

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As usual, most arbitration cases remain unsettled as we approach the new year, including heavyweights such as Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, and Clayton Kershaw.  MLBTR has created a handy database of all arbitration eligible players, which will include information on submissions from both sides, midpoints, and settlement amounts.  You can also filter by team and whether a hearing occurred.

As a reminder, this year players on MLB rosters with at least two years and 146 days but less than six years of service time are arbitration eligible.  Matt Swartz has projected salaries for all of these players exclusively for MLBTR, and you can find that information here.  We've all added Kelly Johnson, David Ortiz, and Francisco Rodriguez to this database, as they were free agents who accepted arbitration.

Important arbitration dates to keep in mind, according to the Associated Press:

• January 13th: Deadline for players to file for arbitration.  This is largely procedural.
• January 17th: Deadline for teams and players to exchange salary arbitration figures.  On this date and the day prior, expect dozens of settlements.  Teams can still negotiate after exchanging figures, although several teams employ a "file and trial" strategy in which they end negotiations on one-year deals once figures are exchanged to ensure a hearing occurs.  These teams have included the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Braves, and Astros.
• February 1-21: Hearings occur in St. Petersburg, Florida.  In 2011, Pence, Jered Weaver, and Ross Ohlendorf had hearings.  At a hearing, a each side has an hour to argue for their salary figure, and a three-person panel picks one of the salaries.
• January is always a big month for multiyear extensions.  Last year we had 17.