Tracking Cubs 2008 Payroll

[nilodnayr]

I just hope they give themselves some wiggle room to make a big deadline deal. With so many teams competing for playoff spots these days, the difference in a mediocre deal and a blockbuster will be money.

 

I think with so many teams competing for playoff spots these days, you see less and less huge trades at the deadline.

[HoopsCubs]

UPDATED November 26, 2007

 

With the news of Kerry Wood signing, here's the payroll situation:

 

$16M Carlos Zambrano

$14M Alfonso Soriano

$13M Derrek Lee

$15M Aramis Ramirez

$8M Ted Lilly

$5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season)

$6.375M Jason Marquis

$4.75M Mark DeRosa

$4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season)

$4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season)

$3.175M Henry Blanco

$1.6M Will Ohman (Free agent after 2008 season)

$1.2M Darryl Ward

$2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade

$4.2M Kerry Wood

 

To-date, the Cubs have 14 players under contract with an obligation of $103.8M.

 

Taking it one step further: assuming the following 9 signings (first 2 arbitration eligible, next 7 league minimun):

 

$0.9M Michael Wuertz

$1.4M Omar Infante

$0.415M Ryan Theriot

$0.415M Felix Pie

$0.415M Geovanni Soto

$0.415M Matt Murton

$0.415M Rich Hill

$0.415M Carlos Marmol

$0.415M Kevin Hart

 

Another $5.2M.

 

So, the Cubs would now have 23 players at $109M.

 

Assuming a payroll of $120M, the Cubs should have $11M to spend on 2 more players (3 if you want to include Mark Prior). I believe those 2 players will follow one of these 2 scenarios:

 

(1) A starting left-handed hitting RF or CF (with Theriot starting at SS) and a right-handed pinch hitter with power to complement Darryl Ward

(2) A starting SS (with Theriot to the bench) and a cheap left-handed hitting RF to platoon with Murton

 

Hoops

[HoopsCubs]

UPDATED December 4, 2007

 

With the news of Infante and Ohman being dealt to Atlanta (presumably with no cash thrown in), here's the payroll situation:

 

$16M Carlos Zambrano

$14M Alfonso Soriano

$13M Derrek Lee

$15M Aramis Ramirez

$8M Ted Lilly

$5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season)

$6.375M Jason Marquis

$4.75M Mark DeRosa

$4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season)

$4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season)

$3.175M Henry Blanco

$1.2M Darryl Ward

$2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade

$4.2M Kerry Wood

 

To-date, the Cubs have 13 players under contract with an obligation of $102.2M.

 

Taking it one step further: assuming the following 8 signings (first 1 arbitration eligible, next 7 league minimun):

 

$0.9M Michael Wuertz

$0.415M Ryan Theriot

$0.415M Felix Pie

$0.415M Geovanni Soto

$0.415M Matt Murton

$0.415M Rich Hill

$0.415M Carlos Marmol

$0.415M Kevin Hart

 

Another $3.8M.

 

So, the Cubs would now have 21 players at $106M.

 

Assuming a payroll of $120M, the Cubs should have $14M to spend on 4 more players (5 if you want to include Mark Prior). I believe those 4 players will follow one of these 2 scenarios:

 

(1)

- back-up middle infielder (could be one of our minor league guys or free agent)

- lefty in the pen (could be one of our minor league guys or free agent)

- starting left-handed hitting RF or CF (with Theriot starting at SS)

- right-handed pinch hitter with power to complement Darryl Ward

 

(2)

- back-up middle infielder (could be one of our minor league guys or free agent)

- lefty in the pen (could be one of our minor league guys or free agent)

- starting SS (with Theriot to the bench)

- cheap left-handed hitting RF to platoon with Murton

 

 

Hoops

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Well Fukudome could be anywhere from 15-17 mil/season. Let's hope Hendry can get this extra 2-3 million authorized...Can't we find a taker for Eyre?

[mdwilla]

FukoDome at 12.5 isn't gonna set the Cubs back as far as some had feared. I've caught a few reports pegging the Cubs payroll at 125 million. Bruce Levine earlier in the week reported they could push it to 135 million if they wanted to.

[HoopsCubs]

UPDATED December 12, 2007

 

With the news of Kosuke Fukudome signing (presumably for $12M per year), here's the payroll situation:

 

$16M Carlos Zambrano

$14M Alfonso Soriano

$13M Derrek Lee

$15M Aramis Ramirez

$8M Ted Lilly

$5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season)

$6.375M Jason Marquis

$4.75M Mark DeRosa

$4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season)

$4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season)

$3.175M Henry Blanco

$1.2M Darryl Ward

$2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade

$4.2M Kerry Wood

$12M Kosuke Fukudome

 

To-date, the Cubs have 14 players under contract with an obligation of $114.2M.

 

Taking it one step further: assuming the following 8 signings (first 1 arbitration eligible, next 7 league minimum):

 

$0.9M Michael Wuertz

$0.415M Ryan Theriot

$0.415M Felix Pie

$0.415M Geovanni Soto

$0.415M Matt Murton

$0.415M Rich Hill

$0.415M Carlos Marmol

$0.415M Kevin Hart

 

Another $3.8M.

 

So, the Cubs would now have 22 players at $118M.

 

Depending on payroll (either $120M as reported by Mr. Miles or $125M as reported by Mr. Levine), the Cubs should have somewhere betweeen $2M and $7M to spend on 3 more players:

 

- back-up middle infielder (Cedeno, Patterson, Fontenot are internal options)

- lefty in the pen (Marshall, Cotts, Pignatiello are internal options)

- utility infielder or outfielder (Cedeno, Patterson, Fontenot, Pagan, Fuld are internal options)

 

The internal choices are probably the way to go if the payroll is at $120M unless there is a high value utility player out there that Hendry can get for less than $1.2M.

 

If the payroll is at $125M, then Hendry does have room to get Brian Roberts' $6.3M into the fold, thereby making DeRosa the back-up/utility/super sub guy.

 

 

Hoops

[David]

Geovany Soto

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Lets throw a party when both Dempster and Eyre finally leave.

[YearofDaCubs]

Lets throw a party when both Dempster and Eyre finally leave.

Don't forget Marquis.

[BigbadB]

Geovany Soto

 

That dude needs a raise.

[David]

Or, at least, his name spelled correctly. :D

[HoopsCubs]

UPDATED December 13, 2007

 

With the news of Neal Cotts signing, here's the payroll situation:

 

$16M Carlos Zambrano

$14M Alfonso Soriano

$13M Derrek Lee

$15M Aramis Ramirez

$8M Ted Lilly

$5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season)

$6.375M Jason Marquis

$4.75M Mark DeRosa

$4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season)

$4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season)

$3.175M Henry Blanco

$1.2M Darryl Ward

$2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade

$4.2M Kerry Wood

$12M Kosuke Fukudome

$800K Neal Cotts

 

To-date, the Cubs have 15 players under contract with an obligation of $115M.

 

Taking it one step further: assuming the following 8 signings (first 1 arbitration eligible, next 7 league minimum):

 

$0.9M Michael Wuertz

$0.415M Ryan Theriot

$0.415M Felix Pie

$0.415M Geovany Soto

$0.415M Matt Murton

$0.415M Rich Hill

$0.415M Carlos Marmol

$0.415M Kevin Hart

 

Another $3.8M.

 

So, the Cubs would now have 23 players at $118.8M.

 

Depending on payroll (either $120M as reported by Mr. Miles or $125M as reported by Mr. Levine), the Cubs should have somewhere betweeen $1.2M and $6.2M to spend on 2 more players:

 

- back-up middle infielder (Cedeno, Patterson, Fontenot are internal options)

- utility infielder or outfielder (Cedeno, Patterson, Fontenot, Pagan, Fuld are internal options)

 

The internal choices are probably the way to go if the payroll is at $120M unless Hendry can snag a valuble right-handed pinch hitter for about $800K.

 

If the payroll is at $125M, then Hendry does have room (barely) to get Brian Roberts' $6.3M into the fold, thereby making DeRosa the back-up/utility/super sub guy.

 

 

Hoops

[JC]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

[nilodnayr]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

Nor starting pitcher nor position player. Really goes to show you how horrible our GM is.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

 

We probably look back on the season and say we have 2 or 3.

[TruffleShuffle]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

 

who cares? on paper the bullpen looks to be one of the better ones in the league, with or without a "truly dominant closer." let the reds have cordero at $10.5M per; let the brewers have gagne at $10M. our bullpen should be just as good, and probably cheaper than at least the brewers' pen and possibly cincy's too.

[JC]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

 

who cares? on paper the bullpen looks to be one of the better ones in the league, with or without a "truly dominant closer." let the reds have cordero at $10.5M per; let the brewers have gagne at $10M. our bullpen should be just as good, and probably cheaper than at least the brewers' pen and possibly cincy's too.

 

The point wasn't a lament of the lack of closer. Rather, it seems like a pretty steep price when the bulk of it isn't being absorbed by some guy throwing bullets at the end of the game with a track record to support a hefty salary. Having a number of $3M-$5M relievers isn't ideal, IMO. Look at recent contracts for relievers in the $12M range: Hawkins, Eyre and Remlinger have had horrendous years in the midst of their respective contracts, yet we continue to give out big dollars for extended periods to relievers. Dempster is a joke, and has been despite his save percentage (which is a farce). I can accept an argument that Howry is worth his contract, but he has had his shaky moments.

 

The point is simply this: mid-range contracts add-up and the Cubs ought to learn from their mistakes. Bullpens ought to be stocked from within the organization with the bulk of their guys earning less than $3M, or, at the very least, not have extended commitments at +$3M.

[CubColtPacer]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

 

who cares? on paper the bullpen looks to be one of the better ones in the league, with or without a "truly dominant closer." let the reds have cordero at $10.5M per; let the brewers have gagne at $10M. our bullpen should be just as good, and probably cheaper than at least the brewers' pen and possibly cincy's too.

 

The point wasn't a lament of the lack of closer. Rather, it seems like a pretty steep price when the bulk of it isn't being absorbed by some guy throwing bullets at the end of the game with a track record to support a hefty salary. Having a number of $3M-$5M relievers isn't ideal, IMO. Look at recent contracts for relievers in the $12M range: Hawkins, Eyre and Remlinger have had horrendous years in the midst of their respective contracts, yet we continue to give out big dollars for extended periods to relievers. Dempster is a joke, and has been despite his save percentage (which is a farce). I can accept an argument that Howry is worth his contract, but he has had his shaky moments.

 

The point is simply this: mid-range contracts add-up and the Cubs ought to learn from their mistakes. Bullpens ought to be stocked from within the organization with the bulk of their guys earning less than $3M, or, at the very least, not have extended commitments at +$3M.

 

You could argue that the Cubs have learned from the mistakes of Eyre and Dempster though. They have only given out 2 deals of over 1 million to relievers in the past 2 years (Ohman and Wood). Ohman was a 2 year deal for a relatively small amount that they traded away after year 1. Wood is a larger deal, but only a 1 year commitment. The team hasn't continued to give out extended commitments to relievers for quite a while now.

 

The big test will come after 2008, when Howry, Dempster, Eyre, and Wood all come off of the books. How many multi-year deals will be spent to replace them? If it's more than 2, I think you'll have a greater point about the Cubs learning from their mistakes. Right now, they're just living with their past mistakes (and Howry has been anything but a mistake, he has earned every penny and more. To have a dependable guy who is consistently and significantly above league average from year to year is worth a lot in this market, even for a bullpen guy).

[JC]

A +$20M bullpen with no truly dominant closer?

 

Wow.

 

who cares? on paper the bullpen looks to be one of the better ones in the league, with or without a "truly dominant closer." let the reds have cordero at $10.5M per; let the brewers have gagne at $10M. our bullpen should be just as good, and probably cheaper than at least the brewers' pen and possibly cincy's too.

 

The point wasn't a lament of the lack of closer. Rather, it seems like a pretty steep price when the bulk of it isn't being absorbed by some guy throwing bullets at the end of the game with a track record to support a hefty salary. Having a number of $3M-$5M relievers isn't ideal, IMO. Look at recent contracts for relievers in the $12M range: Hawkins, Eyre and Remlinger have had horrendous years in the midst of their respective contracts, yet we continue to give out big dollars for extended periods to relievers. Dempster is a joke, and has been despite his save percentage (which is a farce). I can accept an argument that Howry is worth his contract, but he has had his shaky moments.

 

The point is simply this: mid-range contracts add-up and the Cubs ought to learn from their mistakes. Bullpens ought to be stocked from within the organization with the bulk of their guys earning less than $3M, or, at the very least, not have extended commitments at +$3M.

 

You could argue that the Cubs have learned from the mistakes of Eyre and Dempster though. They have only given out 2 deals of over 1 million to relievers in the past 2 years (Ohman and Wood). Ohman was a 2 year deal for a relatively small amount that they traded away after year 1. Wood is a larger deal, but only a 1 year commitment. The team hasn't continued to give out extended commitments to relievers for quite a while now.

 

The big test will come after 2008, when Howry, Dempster, Eyre, and Wood all come off of the books. How many multi-year deals will be spent to replace them? If it's more than 2, I think you'll have a greater point about the Cubs learning from their mistakes. Right now, they're just living with their past mistakes (and Howry has been anything but a mistake, he has earned every penny and more. To have a dependable guy who is consistently and significantly above league average from year to year is worth a lot in this market, even for a bullpen guy).

 

Granted, you could wait until 2008 is over to see how the Cubs replace these guys. Unfortunately, unless Hendry's regime is finally vanquished, the Cubs are likely to maintain the course they have already set forth. Howry and Eyre were just the last in the line. This pattern goes back the Remlinger, then Hawkins, then Dempster, then Howry and Eyre. Mind you, that is not even including the agognizing Antonio Alfonseca, who didn't have a long term deal if I recall; rathe, he was just the recipient of the world's dumbest raise.

[TruffleShuffle]

Granted, you could wait until 2008 is over to see how the Cubs replace these guys. Unfortunately, unless Hendry's regime is finally vanquished, the Cubs are likely to maintain the course they have already set forth. Howry and Eyre were just the last in the line. This pattern goes back the Remlinger, then Hawkins, then Dempster, then Howry and Eyre. Mind you, that is not even including the agognizing Antonio Alfonseca, who didn't have a long term deal if I recall; rathe, he was just the recipient of the world's dumbest raise.

 

i see we continue to lump howry in with the "bad signing" group, even though he's more than earned his $4m per year.

[shnsajax]

Granted, you could wait until 2008 is over to see how the Cubs replace these guys. Unfortunately, unless Hendry's regime is finally vanquished, the Cubs are likely to maintain the course they have already set forth. Howry and Eyre were just the last in the line. This pattern goes back the Remlinger, then Hawkins, then Dempster, then Howry and Eyre. Mind you, that is not even including the agognizing Antonio Alfonseca, who didn't have a long term deal if I recall; rathe, he was just the recipient of the world's dumbest raise.

 

i see we continue to lump howry in with the "bad signing" group, even though he's more than earned his $4m per year.

 

I could be mistaken but I don't really remember anyone complaining about the Remlinger or Hawkins signings. We all knew Hawkins should be used as a setup man and not a closer but that was it. At the time of signing both of those looked pretty good.

[JC]

 

I could be mistaken but I don't really remember anyone complaining about the Remlinger or Hawkins signings. We all knew Hawkins should be used as a setup man and not a closer but that was it. At the time of signing both of those looked pretty good.

 

I specifically recall disappointment over Remlinger, particularly because Hendry went out and paid over market for an aging lefty. I don't remember much grousing about Hawkins.

[JC]

Granted, you could wait until 2008 is over to see how the Cubs replace these guys. Unfortunately, unless Hendry's regime is finally vanquished, the Cubs are likely to maintain the course they have already set forth. Howry and Eyre were just the last in the line. This pattern goes back the Remlinger, then Hawkins, then Dempster, then Howry and Eyre. Mind you, that is not even including the agognizing Antonio Alfonseca, who didn't have a long term deal if I recall; rathe, he was just the recipient of the world's dumbest raise.

 

i see we continue to lump howry in with the "bad signing" group, even though he's more than earned his $4m per year.

 

No. Thats not what I said at all. I recognize that there is value in some high dollar relievers in your bullpen (when they perform). The point, once again, is the fact that the Cubs' pen consists of several players in Howry's range, and this management group has been enamored with high dollar middle relievers who have generally underperformed. Howry's contract may be justifiable; however, coupled with the other pen contracts, it makes for an expensive pen.

[craig]

Several notes:

1. Thanks hoops for keeping the payroll numbers up.

 

2. While those look good for correlating mlb postings, I don't think they necessarily mean a lot in terms of what the Cubs are willing to spend or how they account. Because you are prorating past signing bonuses. I don't think in past that's how the Cubs have decided what they can or can't spend. Whether or not you count money spent on signing bonuses last winter toward this year's payroll matters to the tune of $6 million. Without prorating in the costs of past signing bonuses, the existing roster projects to cost less than $113.

 

3. JC made reference to "A +$20M bullpen". That assumes Dempster in bullpen. Certainly it's possible that he'll wind up there. But I think it's also feasible to take Lou at face value, and consider a default scenario where Dempster does end up in rotation. Without Dempster, the pen is $15. That doesn't seem spendy at all to me. The pen makes up 7/25 of roster (over a quarter), more than half of the pitching staff, and people budgeted for pen are safe to cover at least 1/3 of the team innings. I don't see why $15 million for the crew that will cover 1/3 of the pitching innings is at all inordinate relative to a $115-type payroll, or a payroll that has around $50 or so spent on pitching. Seems quite reasonable. I think the pen may well be the strongest aspect of the team, and the best value per dollar.

[UMFan83]

I don't think this deserved its own thread, but Michael Wuertz asked for $975,000 in arbitration, while the Cubs figure was $750,000. He is the only Cub I know of that in arb process.