For those wondering about just how much the Seattle Mariners have to spend this off-season, there’s been a little confusion.
The estimate here for what the team has available has been aproximately $25 million – $9 million of which they’ve spent on free agent Chone Figgins.
Much has been made of the nearly $50 million in ’09 salary shed with the departures of Miguel Batista, Erik Bedard, Adrian Beltre, Kenji Johjima, Jarrod Washburn and others.
The math is relatively simple: Five players – Ichiro, Carlos Silva, Figgins, Jack Wilson and Bill Hall will be paid about $44 million. Felix Hernandez made $3.8 million while winning 19 games and is due a raise – and the Mariners figure to boost him beyond the $5 million level.
That’s about $50 million accounted for.
Ian Snell, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jose Lopez, that’s another 9.5 million, and you’re right at $60 million. Dustin Ackley is $1.5 million next year, and then you get to the rest of the roster, all of whom made less than $500,000 a man last season.
But figure David Aardsma and Franklin Gutierrez are due big raises. And Brandon Morrow, Garrett Olson, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Mak Lowe, Shawn Kelley, Mike Carp, Jack Hannahan, Rob Johnson and Sean White will all get more in 2010 than in 2009.
Now, you’re over $70 million.
Toss in big-league minimum salaries ($400,000) for rookies like Michael Saunders, Matt Tuiasosopo, Adam Moore and Doug Fister. Add in small raises for Shawn Kelley, Doug French,Jason Vargas, Ryan Langerhans … you’re close to $75 million.
Like all teams, Seattle will set aside a certain amount of money to be spent during the season and at the trade deadline to add payroll to the roster – and take care of incentive clauses that players meet. Say $8-$10 million. Things happen, teams must plan for them.
You’re close to $85 million now. The team spent $98 million in 2009, and says their budget be about the same in 2010.
That leaves about $15 million for general manager Jack Zduriencik to spend – more if he delves into the money budgeted for in-season additions.
With that money, he has to get a starting first baseman, wants to add a veteran starting pitcher, find a designated hitter, maybe even a left fielder.
Think it’s easy? That’s the budget. Feel free to play with it and toss out ideas on where to cut or spend more.
Now, some links:
- J.J. Putz is being courted by the White Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Nationals and Tigers.
- The Washington Nationals needed a catcher and wanted to excite their fans, and they’ve signed future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez to a two-year, $6 million contract.
- Reliever and former Mariner Rafael Soriano surprised the Atlanta Braves - who had signed closer Billy Wagner – by accepting arbitration. He stands to make $7-$8 million.
- Overnight, the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers were working on a deal that would have involved seven players and sent Curtis Granderson to New York, Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to Arizona and a boatload of prospects to Detroit. Apparently, it fell apart this morning.
- If the Angels believe Foxsports.com they’re probably paranoid. It’s reported the Mariners are after John Lackey and Darren Oliver, and says the team can sign both pitchers and a ‘slugging left fielder’ with the money available.
- Baltimore requested and received the medical records of left-hander Erik Bedard, and will likely offer him a deal.
- Cleveland is shopping closer Kerry Wood and his $10.5 million salary. The response, thus far, has been underwhelming.
You all want to read something about Scott Boras? If you haven’t ever heard this story, it will make you think of him in a totally different light.
http://www.thebrushback.com/Archives/scottboras_full.htm
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In all the years of watching baseball I have never, ever heard of teams leaving that much money sitting there during the offseason for “mid season acquisitions”. What I have heard about is teams going to the owner because they are SO close and asking for a bump in the budget.
Some of your numbers are not accurate either. For example ichiro is getting 12 million a year (5 million deferred) making the initial group actually costing about 40 million THIS year. Now do the mariners want to tuck that money away right this instant or use that 5 as flex money?
Also shouldn’t a GM off season plan set up a team that does not NEED to make a mid season acquisition? Honestly, this to me sounds like you did the math and realized that we did have 30-35 to spend and are now trying to save face. That or we have another case of the disappearing Japanese money like Sasaki a few years back….
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TB – ichiro will be paid $17 million this season, with $5 million deferred – the signing bonus has been taken care of. he also gets $50,000 for being an All-Star, $34,000 in housing costs, four round-trip tickets to japan and a paid translator.
those are the kinds of costs that drive payroll higher and must be paid from the baseball payroll.
the math is legit, like it or not.
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According to this article his annual salary is 12 million with 5 million deferred which he will receive after retirement. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2941080
Geoff just reported the 15 million to spend too which makes me think you are getting this from the mariners front office. This stinks of the disappearing sasaki money all over again.
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TB – deferred money counts as salary, because it must be paid into an interest-bearing account. ichiro is at $17 million-plus incentives.
that’s not the seattle front office version, it’s the audited MLB version. no conspiracy here. no disappearing cash.
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Bill Hall is getting real money??? Bill Hall??? And all this time I thought we had a gifted gm in Z. Guess I was wrong……….
What in the H are we doing paying big $’s to a bench warmer?????
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Yes Larry Ichiro’s “Salary” for the year is 17 million plus incentives. From my understanding this is included as salary for luxury tax (among other things). Ultimately though deferment means that we do not have to pay that money this year. Otherwise why not just exclude the deferment language (and the interest language). Hence what he will really be paid of the 17 million he is owed this year is 12 million. He loans us the other 5 and we have to pay that back once he is retired. Thus we DO in fact have 5 more million this year if we budget 98 million.
Now maybe the mariners are being fiscally responsible and paying the 5 when they can (or when others do not reach incentives). Maybe they already have a plan for that flexiblity, but they DO theoretically have the ability to wait to pay him part of the 17 million he is owed.
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TB – No one is making this up. LOL. The Mariners, legally, have to put the $5 million aside to prevent them from saying down the road ‘we don’t have it’ or ‘that was a deal with previous ownership.’
It really is $17 million. The Mariners really do have about $15 to play with. They really aren’t trying to fool you or MLB or Ichiro. They really don’t have more than what’s been reported.
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I have no proof that they are not legally bound to have that money, but honestly a deferment in a player contact is billed as a cost cutting measure for teams in the short run. If a team does infact have to put away 5 million now and pay interest as you imply then it does not cut cost but increases them all the way around for the team making a deferment a horrible proposition for any team. To me it sounds more like a loan by the player to the team meaning the team has to pay a set small amount of the “loan” at the time and over time the interest too, making it cheaper for the team in the short term but more expensive in the long term. This although was just an example and not the main point.
I come up with the same numbers you do. The difference is I do not believe the 8-10 million for mid season acquisitions line. Honestly, I am more inclined to believe, as Larry Stone articulated it, that they have some flexibility to increase money spent should they deem it necessary. My guess would be that 10 million is spendable now, but only if necessary for the right player.
If we all agree their budget is 98 million, same as last year on opening day, then what makes this year different that we can not spend up to that point until midseason? Maybe that is the wisest for them (if they are targeting a specific trade mid season), but it is there now. Thus they actually have 25 million to spend whether they choose to or not.
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