MLB Free Agency: Power Ranking Each Team Based on Offseason Budget
Baseball is a unique sport for a lot of different reasons.
One of them is payroll. Unlike the NBA, NFL and NHL, there isn't a salary cap in MLB.
That's the main reason the Yankees and Red Sox are able to compete every year while the Pirates are close to 20 years of consecutive losing seasons.
Traditional big spenders like the Angels and the Tigers are going to have some money to blow. But there are some traditionally cheap teams looking to dish out some dough as well. Don't sleep on the Orioles, Nationals and A's to make a splash in free agency.
Here is the rankings on how much money teams have for free agency this off-season.
20-30: Broke As a Joke
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30. Tampa Bay Rays- They are going to lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena to free agency because they can't afford to keep them. They have to decide if they want to pony up the big bucks to keep stud closer Rafael Soriano. Look for the Rays to cut payroll.
29. Seattle Mariners- They spent big in '09 and where did that get them? Milton Bradley is due to make $12M in 2011 and they still owe the Cubs Carlos Silva $5M. Don't expect much of a splash from the Mariners.
28. Milwaukee Brewers- GM Doug Melvin will have $10M or so to spend, with holes to fill at catcher, center field, and in the rotation. Time to shop at the bargain bin in Milwaukee.
27. Kansas City Royals- The Royals are interested in the veteran starter Kevin Millwood. That means the Royals are shopping at Target, not Nordstroms.
26. Los Angeles Dodgers- GM Ned Colletti is in a financial crisis with the team. The team has an owner going through a very public divorce and they have seven players who will be free-agents that need to be addressed. How is Colletti going to make this train wreck work?
25. San Diego Padres- They have somewhere between $8M and 13M to spend on a starting pitcher, a reliever, a catcher and two infielders. If Adrian Gonzalez is traded then another $5.5M will open up. Look for the Padres to be in the news more for trades than free agent signings this winter.
24. Cincinnati Reds- Don't expect a major off-season spending spree, but the Reds are boosting payroll for the 2011 season. Cincinnati opened the 2010 season with a $76M payroll and GM Walt Jocketty expects the team to spend just a bit more next year. This is another team that will make a bigger splash with a trade. The young talent is beginning to stockpile in AAA.
23. Colorado Rockies- The big issue is what to do with Todd Helton and his ridiculous $16M contract. They have to get more production out of first base. If they can trade Helton and open up all that cash then the Rockies move way up on the list. If not, expect a very similar roster in '11.
22. Minnesota Twins- The Twins won the bidding for Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, dropping $5.5M in the process. Expect him to be the major free agent signing for the Twins this off-season
21. Florida Marlins- Free-agent pitcher Javier Vazquez has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Marlins. That will be the biggest move the historically cheap Marlins will make this winter.
20. New York Mets- The Mets already have eight players scheduled to make $111M in 2011. New G.M.Sandy Alderson doesn't have much flexibilty in next year's payroll. It means that the Mets may not improve much until after next season, when they will gain a huge amount of financial flexibility.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
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General Manager Josh Byrnes said "there's a good chance" trades are coming.
"We aren't where we need to be in the standings, and as far as sort of the things we'd like to do to adjust the roster, there's also payroll considerations as we try to sort of get ready for next year."
The big question is the status of Brandon Webb. Will he be back and at what price?
18. Atlanta Braves
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The Braves have already traded for Dan Uggla and now the main concern is bench help.
Derrek Lee, Rick Ankiel, Eric Hinske, Troy Glaus, and Kyle Farnsworth have all declared for free agency and most likely not be on the Braves roster next season.
Contractual options on Alex Gonzalez and Omar Infante were already picked up.
They have explored their options that include Cristian Guzman, Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Cesar Izturis. Outfielders that are on the radar include Corey Patterson, Rocco Baldelli, Austin Kearns and Randy Winn.
Shopping at the dollar store for the Braves.
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17. Chicago White Sox
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The White Sox offered salary arbitration to free agents Paul Konerko and J.J. Putz, and they declined to offer arbitration to A.J. Pierzynski and Manny Ramirez.
The offers to Konerko and Putz mean the White Sox will be compensated with draft picks if they are unable to reach an agreement.
Konerko finished fifth in the AL MVP balloting after batting .312 with 39 homers and 111 RBIs last season. Putz was 7-5 with a 2.83 ERA and three saves in 60 appearances. Both of them will take up a large chunk of the money the White Sox can spend.
16. Toronto Blue Jays
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The Blue Jays bullpen is in for the biggest change, with closer Kevin Gregg and set-up men Scott Downs and Jason Frasor all free agents.
Combined with the departure of Brian Tallet, G.M. Alex Anthopoulos has four relief jobs to figure out and while there are some potential replacements from within.
He admits that “the quality of those alternatives remains to be seen.”
Expect the Jays to hit the reliever market hard.
A dark horse signing? How about Manny Ramirez.
15. Philadelphia Phillies
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The Phillies said they will offer arbitration to free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, but not to free-agent reliever Chad Durbin.
Werth is one of the top free agents on the market and it looks as if he will be going to the highest bidder. The Phillies are already paying the big buck to Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. It looks as if the Phillies are not going to have enough cash to give Werth a new deal.
Former Met left handers Hisanori Takahashi and Pedro Feliciano, seem to make the most sense.
Nothing to flashy for a team that doesn't need a lot of help.
14. St. Louis Cardinals
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The Cards need to sign a outfielder that can get on base. The offense is what really let the team down in the final month or so of the season.
The payroll will likely be around $100M so the Cardinals have the potential to make a bit of a splash. They will have around $5M to spend on one. What if they signed Johnny Damon?
13. Houston Astros
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Trying to figure out how the Astros may reach the $90M payroll again next season is tough. G.M. Ed Wade will have a lot of flexibility to juggle the 2011 roster.
Lance Berkman is off the payroll, but the Astros will still have some of Roy Oswalt's salary left to pay (around $4M).
The money the Astros save on those players next year will help pay for the upgrade in arbtration for Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, Humberto Quintero and Felipe Paulino.
The 'Stros will have the means to make a run at a top of the line starting pitcher or a type A offensive player like Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Adrian Beltre or Maggilo Ordonez.
12. San Francisco Giants
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Manager Bruce Bochy and G. M. Brian Sabean are both worthy of extensions, so look to see a couple of years added onto their current contracts. The 2011 Giants shouldn't look too much different than last year's team, you know, because they won the World Series and all.
With the payroll seemingly set around $90M that would give the Giants over $39M to spend in free agency. However, that number doesn't include arbitration for Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Wilson or Pablo Sandoval.
They may not see a Crawford or a Jayson Werth join the squad, but they have the ability to pick-up a offensive stud like Vlad Guerreo or Carlos Pena.
11. Chicago Cubs
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Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has said the payroll will be "slightly lower" in 2011 than the $144 million figure for this year. The team already is committed to $103 million in salaries next season to players
Carlos Zambrano has indicated he wants Adam Dunn, the slugger from the Nationals, the Cubs may try to find someone from the free-agent market who is less expensive.
But the rumors of Dunn and the Cubs are gaining steam and Dunn has historically played very well at the friendly confines.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates
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The Pirates starting pitching is awful as it is currently constructed. They certainly wont be going after a Cliff Lee type, but signing a guy like Dave Bush or Kevin Millwood is certainly a possibility.
After their financial records were leaked for everyone to see in horror, I expect the Pirates to try and make a few more free agent signings than they normally do.
The Pirates will have a lot of trouble trying to convince big names to play in Pittsburgh, but if they throw enough money on the table, then the players will come.
9. Cleveland Indians
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With the highly paid Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood and Russell Branyan coming off the books, the Tribe will have a ton of cash to spend.
A team with a bunch of holes, look for the Indians to make a run at variety of different free agent options. Expect the Tribe to spend about $20M on free agents.
Who will they be? Tough call considering they need help at virtually every position.
8. Oakland Athletics
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The A's have Ben Sheets and his $10M contract coming off the books. The franchise isn't straddled by any bad contracts and G.M. Billy Beane should have a lot more flexibility than usual.
The pitching staff is stellar so the focus in free agency is on offense. A guy like Carlos Pena, Maggilo Ordonez or Adam Dunn would be a spectacular fit for the A's.
4. Detroit Tigers
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The Tigers have already made a lot of noise in the free agent market. They signed Victor Martinez, and Joaquin Benoit, plus another $12.75 million to re-sign free agents Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta.
A team that finished at .500 in '10 are wheeling and dealing.
They have the dollars for another huge contract.
Check out this quote from one source who has talked with the Tigers, courtesy of ESPN's Jayson Stark:
"My guess is they sign a bat, probably for [a total package of] less than $50 million. I could see a [multiyear] deal in the range of $25-30M. They can definitely still do that. I don't know if they will, but my sense is that they will. [GM] Dave [Dombrowski] clearly went into this with a plan, to be very aggressive. And he's going to follow through on that plan."
3. Boston Red Sox
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Adrian Beltre had a great innarugal season in Boston and will be very expensive to keep. The Sox will make a strong offer from him but they might end up losing to a team like the Rangers or Tigers.
If they are able to re-sign Beltre, then the Sox will have around $35M to spend. It appears that they are still the front-runners to sign prized free agent Jayson Werth. Don't count out the possibilty of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena or Adam Dunn too.
The Red Sox will have plenty of options to make fans forget a disappointing 2010.
2. New York Yankees
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This is a big offseason for the Yankees. Contract talks with Derek Jeter have turned awkward and they still have to pay Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.
Most experts think all three of them will be back. That's a lot of cash to dish out.
But these are the Yankees we are talking about. They are still the odds on favorite to nab Cliff Lee. They are throwing the whole kitchen sink at Lee and will be offering him more money than any other team. The odds of Lee pitching in pin stripes next year is highly likely.
The Yanks endless pockets could also help them land Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth. G.M. Brian Cashman has plenty of cash to work with (like usual).
1. Los Angeles Angels
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The Angles are in the drivers seat for a huge off-season.
"Every indication is, they're going to spend their butts off," said one AL executive. "They're going to spend where they feel they need to spend."
It would be a huge upset if the Angels don't sign Carl Crawford. And they could also afford to sign Adrian Beltre as well as a closer. Someone like Heath Bell would fit nicely.
"They could give Crawford $100 million, Beltre $70M and still be spending $10M less than they offered Teixeira," he said. "And that leaves enough left over to bolster their 'pen."
The Angels are going to be a very different team in 2011, expect to hear the 'Halo's names a lot this winter.
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