2008 Payroll Thread

[Leeyat]

Thanks Kyle, C2K7!

[Fat Strat]

Pineiro didn't reach enough of his incentives to have the option kick in so he's just a regular old free agent.

I thought reaching the incentives (for games finished) meant it would change from a mutual option to a player option. Not eliminate the option altogether.

???

From the PD...

In two months Pineiro has transformed himself from castoff to commodity. Because he did not reach a prescribed number of games finished (34) to put in force a mutual option, he is a pending free agent should the Cardinals not take advantage of their opportunity to negotiate exclusively with him.

[number9]

Cardinals payroll experiencing growing pains?
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/02/2007

The Cardinals learned this season that $101 million mixed with rampant injuries is worth only third place. In the upcoming weeks they must decide what a return to first place will cost.

With nearly $84 million already committed to 12 players next season, Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. must determine how much general manager Walt Jocketty may spend to flesh out the rest of a revitalized roster.

Of the dollars already committed, $48.5 million is owed to players who endured season-ending, or even career-threatening, injuries.

Ace Chris Carpenter probably will miss at least four months after undergoing elbow-ligament-transplant surgery.

Lefthander Mark Mulder is questionable to open 2008 after requiring his second rotator-cuff operation in barely 12 months. Third baseman Scott Rolen (shoulder surgery), second baseman Adam Kennedy (knee surgery) and right fielder Juan Encarnacion did not accompany the team on its final trip. Encarnacion's career is in doubt after he sustained a horrific eye injury while standing on deck Aug. 31.

"It's going to be more difficult," Jocketty acknowledged last week about the looming numbers crunch. "I don't know if that represents more pressure. I haven't sat down yet to completely take it apart."

The process began in earnest Monday during a meeting with DeWitt and his uniformed personnel.

The desire for another power hitter and two additional starting pitchers was broached. A vacancy also exists at shortstop as David Eckstein approaches free agency.

"We've got flexibility," DeWitt said. "Our payroll is over $100 million this season. We expect next year it will be as well. A lot depends on who's out there. We'd like to be aggressive. But how prudent that is within this player market remains to be seen."

DeWitt would not commit to either an initial number or a season-ending projection for next season but allowed the possibility payroll could reach $110 million to $115 million.

The Cardinals opened this season with about $91 million in payroll, not including incentives and buyouts, a lower number than in their final season at old Busch.

"The projected payroll for the entire 2008 season is the relevant number, not the face value of contracts," maintained DeWitt, who includes all likely incentives and buyouts into his projections before opening day. "We submit projections to Major League Baseball, not the number at which we start the season."

"We've always been within a small band of being accurate when we start the year," DeWitt said. "If we add a big salary at some point during the season, as we have at times in the past, then it's above that band. Generally, we've been on target."

WEIGHING OPTIONS

With the Cardinals concerned about next season's payroll, free agency offers the appeal of back-loading contracts. The trade market may offer players such as Atlanta Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria or Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jon Garland.

The Cardinals also could part with experience for potential, a move that reaped a big dividend with the trade in 2003 of outfielder J.D Drew and Eli Marrero for three Atlanta Braves pitchers — Jason Marquis, Adam Wainwright and Ray King.

Promoting from within, however, holds little appeal.

La Russa dismisses the notion that the club could try to "go young" next year by flooding the roster with organizational products. A lack of pitching help from Class AAA Memphis this season reinforced his point.

"For 2008, I don't think you can legitimately make this a transition club, where you bring in young guys who pitch and hit. We ain't got that," La Russa said. "If that's true, help has to come through trade or free agency."

GROWING ISSUE

While new Busch Stadium sold out for the second consecutive season, a faction of the team's fan base has become increasingly sensitive to a comparison of ticket prices and payroll.

Ownership is likewise sensitive to suggestions that it has not acted in the competitive interests of the franchise, which is in the game's 21st largest media market.

The defending World Series champions began the season with the game's 11th-highest payroll and, according to an annual survey prepared by Team Marketing (a private firm that annually compiles a survey of ticket and concession costs), the sport's fifth-highest average ticket price.

The club has long emphasized its dependence on attendance with its relatively small media-market size.

Because of expanded capacity, this season's record attendance of 3,551,778 outpaced the 3,407,104 that paid during the ballpark's inaugural season.

After holding firm on ticket prices last winter, the Cardinals are expected to announce an increase later this month when they address season-ticket holders.

Team President Mark Lamping insisted Monday that the club has not formalized its decision.

"It's fair to say for this organization especially, if attendance goes down it's a negative. If it goes up it's a positive," Lamping said. "But we have not finalized what we are going to do regarding ticket prices."

For now, few other obvious revenue enhancements exist. The Cardinals' contracts with rightsholders, sponsors and their concessions contractor factor only inflationary increases and are not back-loaded, as are numerous player deals.

Broadcast rights increase only with the number of games televised.

That number is expected to remain steady for 2008. Lamping said the club anticipates its 2008 attendance will approximate this season's.

"We still believe demand for our tickets is very high," he said.

SPENDING POWER

DeWitt assured Jocketty, La Russa and the coaching staff during Monday's meeting that the club would commit whatever is necessary to return the club to contention next season.

"Bill made it very clear that we have resources, and if the right people are there we would be very aggressive," La Russa said. "That's the correct way to describe it.

"If the right people aren't there, you don't just spend money for the fans to say, 'Oh, they're willing to spend.' And then they start criticizing you for spending it stupidly. They made it clear that we have resources and if the right guys are there we're going to be aggressive."

jstrauss@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8371

Link (The link also includes a breakdown of who is under contract, arb eligible, under control, or a free agent...although I think that has been covered here already)

[Colbert Rasmols]

Pineiro didn't reach enough of his incentives to have the option kick in so he's just a regular old free agent.

I thought reaching the incentives (for games finished) meant it would change from a mutual option to a player option. Not eliminate the option altogether.

???

From the PD...

In two months Pineiro has transformed himself from castoff to commodity. Because he did not reach a prescribed number of games finished (34) to put in force a mutual option, he is a pending free agent should the Cardinals not take advantage of their opportunity to negotiate exclusively with him.

Thanks.

[Fat Strat]

Updated payroll...



Red font is arb eligible, option, or potential DFA candidate.

First category is confirmed costs. Second column is likely costs. Third column is incentives.

Keep in mind that the Cardinals count incentives in their payroll estimates, so really the third column is probably the most telling about where we are in terms of actual payroll availability.

As you can see, we're sitting close to $100 million right now. There are ways to cut the payroll down, including cutting ties with Taguchi, Maroth, and Miles. Tags and Maroth would save us aprx. 2-2.5 million. Miles another $1-1.5 mil depending on how much he would get in arbitration. We already indicated that we were done with Bennett. That's another 1 mill saved. Problem with Bennett is that we don't have a MiLB solution, so it's only a temporary savings. We'll end up spending as much or more for our backup than we will for Bennett in the end.

[Secret Weapon]

i have a feeling we will backload any big contract we give out this offseason.

In 2009 you can take Edmonds and Izzy's 16 million off the books and replace them with Rasmus and Perez. Thats a 15 million net savings.

Also take Mulder and Juan off the books and that's another 13 million. Spiezio tacks on a couple more.

That's over 30 million freed up right there without losing too much. Hopefully by 2009 Rolen and Carpenter will be healthy and close to playing to what theyre being paid and then we won't have nearly the wasted money that we're going to have next year.

[haltz]

I didn't guess on arbitration amounts or fill out the roster with guys making the minimum. There should be several million for both of those things.

[planet planet]

I hadn't heard a definitive answer on whether we are obligated to pay Juan's full $6.5 million or not?

[fulldeck]

Why wouldn't they pay Juan's contract? It isn't like he was injured washing his van. Considering the contract wasn't insured, I would imagine the contract will be paid and treated as an operating loss. I would be surprised if it was factored into the payroll though.

[planet planet]

Why wouldn't they pay Juan's contract? It isn't like he was injured washing his van. Considering the contract wasn't insured, I would imagine the contract will be paid and treated as an operating loss. I would be surprised if it was factored into the payroll though.

I wasn't sure if his contract carried insurance of any type. I guess they only do that for high risk players.