San Diego Padres Set Sights on a Payroll Worth $70 Million

About a week ago, I posted an article about the Padres' recent struggles and compared them to the success of the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Those three teams have two things in common, all are successful franchises, and all put over $100 million into the team's payroll.

True, the Padres don't have the ability to increase their payroll by 120 percent. However, they can contend for a World Series if they make a steady increase for the next 10 years.

Padres owner Jeff Moorad has made it clear that his goal is to make the San Diego Padres a 70 Million dollar team. As of now, they stand at about $46 million. Thus, the Padres have the third lowest payroll in the Majors.

A new broadcasting deal will bump the total by up to 20 percent. After this season, San Diego will make anywhere from $20 million to $30 million, and FSN San Diego will be the new home of your San Diego Padres for years to come.

With this new money, San Diego could start bringing in more free agents of high caliber.

San Diego has an excellent farm system, and with an increase in payroll, these young starts will not turn out like Adrian Gonzalez—traded in the final year of his contract.

The Padres will have some trouble for the next four or five years building toward the goal, but once those prospects develop, San Diego can contend for something this city has never really achieved, a Championship.