The actual figure is dependent on whether or not BN has adopted the concept of windows of contention. A case can be made payroll was purposely reduced in ‘19-‘22 in order to increase payroll to never seen before levels when the team is a legitimate contender.
Personally of the opinion BN’s business philosophy hasn’t changed. He’s still the same risk adverse Owner he’s always been until he shows us otherwise.
payroll increased steadily up over 100 million in the last window of contention. They spent ~$30 million last offseason to get to a $75 million payroll.
Ethan has them at $55 going into the offseason, I see no reason why they can’t spend another $30 to get to $85. It’s a modest increase over this year when they’re looking to jump into contention.
I totally agree with everything you said. Unfortunately $30 million isn’t going to make the Pirates a contender on its own. $5 million to Cutch leaves $25 million, which isn’t near enough for 1 mid-level SP, 1 reclamation SP, and an above average 1B. And that’s the bare minimum they need to acquire this winter.
We better hope either BN opens his wallet, or BC makes a deal using the prospect pitching depth and/or major league ready MI depth to fill a big hole or two on the 26-man roster. And the trade(s) don’t blow up in his face like the Archer deal.
Are you under the impression I don't have this information...because I do!
What stinks is from time to time when I find something new (amazing) but have to go back and change 15 years of data, sometimes for like a few hundred dollars difference (not as fun, but okay, still pretty fun).
What I do wish is I could do it for 29 other teams, as it's impossible to compare this to public tracking of other teams--apples and oranges.
Sometimes--even though I know it shouldn't--if I don't get feedback, it feels like I'm screaming into the wind and all my hardwork is for not. It's nice to hear from readers who appreciate the content, hopefully almost as much as I enjoy producing it.
Excellent work, and another valuable add to the Resource Page. The adds of the 5 players who were traded and the pair that remain, 'Cutch and Joe, helped the 2023 team become a competitive entity.
I doubt we will see the Pirates continuing to reinforce youth with that large a number of Free Agents. A lot of valuable PT for young, talented position players and pitchers in 2023 should resolve that issue.
It's possible the management team could opt for an affordable SP to help the Rotation, but with the sheer numbers of young Pirate SP's with MLB experience, it may be the time to showcase the in-house talent for at least the first two months of 2024. Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo are 1 and 2, and there are 6 possible SP's who will try to claim those 3, 4, 5 slots in ST. JT Brubaker's rehab from TJ hits 14 months in early June, and I think Mike Burrows is on about the same rehab schedule. The Bullpen is solid and deep, so the Pirates could entertain more than a few BP games in the first few months.
Thanks for all your hard work Ethan. Clearly evident it’s a labor of love for you.
Be interesting to compare these numbers to the 2024 payroll. I’m sure many fans want them to spend $100 million or more, but I can’t see them spending more than $85 million next year at most.
With uncertainty of the TV deal, don’t be surprised if there’s only a nominal increase.
I like to protect an entire roster of internal options, basically as a starting point in saying "it likely can't go much lower than this ".
The likes of Spotrac and RR only factor in known salaries, but it doesn't make sense to me. No team fields 10 players come the start of the year. All that does is make the randoms mad.
looks like there will be $30-40 million available to add this offseason. (i wish/it should actually be $50+ million)
The actual figure is dependent on whether or not BN has adopted the concept of windows of contention. A case can be made payroll was purposely reduced in ‘19-‘22 in order to increase payroll to never seen before levels when the team is a legitimate contender.
Personally of the opinion BN’s business philosophy hasn’t changed. He’s still the same risk adverse Owner he’s always been until he shows us otherwise.
payroll increased steadily up over 100 million in the last window of contention. They spent ~$30 million last offseason to get to a $75 million payroll.
Ethan has them at $55 going into the offseason, I see no reason why they can’t spend another $30 to get to $85. It’s a modest increase over this year when they’re looking to jump into contention.
I totally agree with everything you said. Unfortunately $30 million isn’t going to make the Pirates a contender on its own. $5 million to Cutch leaves $25 million, which isn’t near enough for 1 mid-level SP, 1 reclamation SP, and an above average 1B. And that’s the bare minimum they need to acquire this winter.
We better hope either BN opens his wallet, or BC makes a deal using the prospect pitching depth and/or major league ready MI depth to fill a big hole or two on the 26-man roster. And the trade(s) don’t blow up in his face like the Archer deal.
how they might spend it & whether that’s enough are different discussions.
$30-40 is the budget, form your wish list accordingly
Jordan Montgomery was on my wish list, but he’s pitched his way to a higher tax bracket this month.
Next project: retroactively perform the same exercise for every season going back to 2008. ;)
No public source is accurate enough to even bother using as a comparison.
Are you under the impression I don't have this information...because I do!
What stinks is from time to time when I find something new (amazing) but have to go back and change 15 years of data, sometimes for like a few hundred dollars difference (not as fun, but okay, still pretty fun).
What I do wish is I could do it for 29 other teams, as it's impossible to compare this to public tracking of other teams--apples and oranges.
Oh man, that would be sweet! And then all 29 other clubs can be your winter project, ;).
Passion for anything, even as weird as major league baseball financials, is an awesome thing to see and Ethan is an awesome dude.
I appreciate the sentiment.
Sometimes--even though I know it shouldn't--if I don't get feedback, it feels like I'm screaming into the wind and all my hardwork is for not. It's nice to hear from readers who appreciate the content, hopefully almost as much as I enjoy producing it.
I for one really appreciate the information you provide.
Excellent work, and another valuable add to the Resource Page. The adds of the 5 players who were traded and the pair that remain, 'Cutch and Joe, helped the 2023 team become a competitive entity.
I doubt we will see the Pirates continuing to reinforce youth with that large a number of Free Agents. A lot of valuable PT for young, talented position players and pitchers in 2023 should resolve that issue.
It's possible the management team could opt for an affordable SP to help the Rotation, but with the sheer numbers of young Pirate SP's with MLB experience, it may be the time to showcase the in-house talent for at least the first two months of 2024. Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo are 1 and 2, and there are 6 possible SP's who will try to claim those 3, 4, 5 slots in ST. JT Brubaker's rehab from TJ hits 14 months in early June, and I think Mike Burrows is on about the same rehab schedule. The Bullpen is solid and deep, so the Pirates could entertain more than a few BP games in the first few months.
Thanks for all your hard work Ethan. Clearly evident it’s a labor of love for you.
Be interesting to compare these numbers to the 2024 payroll. I’m sure many fans want them to spend $100 million or more, but I can’t see them spending more than $85 million next year at most.
With uncertainty of the TV deal, don’t be surprised if there’s only a nominal increase.
Hey thanks, it certainly is that.
I have that on my list of articles to write, but right now I have it at about $55M for a whole 40-man roster of internal players.
That’s with or without arbitration estimates?
With
I like to protect an entire roster of internal options, basically as a starting point in saying "it likely can't go much lower than this ".
The likes of Spotrac and RR only factor in known salaries, but it doesn't make sense to me. No team fields 10 players come the start of the year. All that does is make the randoms mad.
With Jarlin Garcia?
Nope, assumed they declined the option.