Can you fill out the O's roster for less than $10M?

[Aglets]

Opening day payroll for this team in 2016 was right around $150M. Probably ended up going a bit higher with the later season acquisitions.

Duquette has been fairly open already that we're not going to be able to take on much more salary next year via free agency.

Here's where we stack up for 2017 right now based on current contracts and arbitration estimates (thanks to Roch for posting the 3rd party numbers).

Offense:

Davis - $17M

Jones - $16.3M

Hardy - $14M

Machado - $11.2M (arb)

Kim - $4.2M

Schoop - $3.4M (arb)

Flaherty - $1.7M (arb)

Joseph - $1M (arb)

Rickard - pre-arb

Pitching:

Jimenez - $13.5M

Britton - $11.4M (arb)

Gallardo - $11M

Tillman - $10.6M (arb)

Miley - $8.92M

O'Day - $7M

Gausman - $3.9M (arb)

Brach - $2.9M (arb)

Bundy? - $2M? (not sure how his contract works right now actually, but I assume he will not be receiving a pay cut....so i think this is best-case)

Givens - pre-arb

So for 19 roster spots that works out to about $140M.

We need to add at least a starting catcher, and another OF (or two....), a DH.....plus some bullpen arms. I assume we only have about $10M left at most to work with. Can you do it?

Some savings is possible by non-tendering some folks or by working out extensions (please please extend Manny).....however I don't think the folks that are most likely to be non-tendered will really save us anything meaningful.

Am I missing anything?

/EDITED to reflect actual terms of Davis contract..........not annual averages.......added Rickard

[isestrex]

To format your roster a bit:

C - ?

1B - Davis - $23M

2B - Schoop - $3.4M (arb)

SS - Hardy - $14M

3B - Machado - $11.2M (arb)

LF - Kim - $4.2M

CF - Jones - $16.3M

RF - ?

DH - ?

C - Joseph - $1M (arb)

IF - Flaherty - $1.7M (arb)

OF - ?

UTIL - ?

SP - Tillman - $10.6M (arb)

SP -Gausman - $3.9M (arb)

SP - Jimenez - $13.5M

SP - Bundy? - $2M

SP - Gallardo - $11M

CL - Britton - $11.4M (arb)

SU - O'Day - $7M

SU - Brach - $2.9M (arb)

MR - Givens - pre-arb

MR - ?

MR - ?

LR - Miley - $8.92M

------------------------

So that's 7 spots. 1 Catcher, 2 OF plus 2 other bats, and 2 MR.

[survivedc]

I don't know much about how the arbitration system works but almost tripling manny and britton's salaries seems like an awful lot.

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[jamalshw]

I don't know much about how the arbitration system works but almost tripling manny and britton's salaries seems like an awful lot.

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I'm pretty sure these are the MLB Trade Rumors numbers. They've been reasonably good at these projections over the last few years.

[backwardsk]

I thought Davis was $17M

Two of Hart, Drake, Wright, Wilson for the bullpen $1.1M

Mancini and Rickard for two spots: $1.1M

So that comes out to about $13.8 for catcher, RF, and one more bench spot.

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[Aglets]

I don't know much about how the arbitration system works but almost tripling manny and britton's salaries seems like an awful lot.

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According to numbers on bb-reference............Manny's salary would increase by a 'only' a factor of 2.24........Britton's would less than double.

I forgot Rickard should probably be on the list for next year already.......he's another pre-arb it looks like, so that's good. Only 6 spots left!

[Aglets]

I thought Davis was $17M

Two of Hart, Drake, Wright, Wilson for the bullpen $1.1M

Mancini and Rickard for two spots: $1.1M

So that comes out to about $13.8 for catcher, RF, and one more bench spot.

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You're right about Davis! Gah, this is one of the first times I can remember that baseball-reference let me down.

Updating the OP..........

[Aglets]

I agree that the bottom line comes down to we have about $12-13M or so to spend on DH, an OF and a starting catcher. Where do you have Mancini playing? Opening Day DH?

[backwardsk]

I agree that the bottom line comes down to we have about $12-13M or so to spend on DH, an OF and a starting catcher. Where do you have Mancini playing? Opening Day DH?

Mancini is a DH/backup 1B. Maybe Kim becomes full time DH if they get two new lefty OFers.

[Pheasants]

I thought Davis was $17M

Two of Hart, Drake, Wright, Wilson for the bullpen $1.1M

Mancini and Rickard for two spots: $1.1M

So that comes out to about $13.8 for catcher, RF, and one more bench spot.

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We've got two AAA catchers, one considered great defensively, one offensively; pick one while we wait one more year for our next star. I think Bourn or Dariel Alvarez is the fourth OF; therefore we can go looking for a RF with most of the money.

[Aglets]

Seems pretty clear to me that Kim and Rickard should be platoon partners in the OF.

Mancini has certainly crushed in the minors (and over his entire 5 game MLB career, lol) but I doubt Buck will really want him to clog the DH spot full time. I'm not necessarily opposed to it tho actually.

[jamalshw]

To format your roster a bit:

C - ?

1B - Davis - $23M

2B - Schoop - $3.4M (arb)

SS - Hardy - $14M

3B - Machado - $11.2M (arb)

LF - Kim - $4.2M

CF - Jones - $16.3M

RF - ?

DH - ?

C - Joseph - $1M (arb)

IF - Flaherty - $1.7M (arb)

OF - ?

UTIL - ?

SP - Tillman - $10.6M (arb)

SP -Gausman - $3.9M (arb)

SP - Jimenez - $13.5M

SP - Bundy? - $2M

SP - Gallardo - $11M

CL - Britton - $11.4M (arb)

SU - O'Day - $7M

SU - Brach - $2.9M (arb)

MR - Givens - pre-arb

MR - ?

MR - ?

LR - Miley - $8.92M

------------------------

So that's 7 spots. 1 Catcher, 2 OF plus 2 other bats, and 2 MR.

I think you can fill some of these spots internally. Take Trey Mancini at DH (and some 1B with Davis at DH), put Rickard as the extra OF, use Donnie Hart as the LOOGY in the pen and you could also let the other relief spot be a competition with Oliver Drake having the inside track. That's 4 of the open 7 positions all at or near league minimum, taking about $2.5M of the $10M we have in this theoretical game to fill the spots. Then it's all about finding a serviceable RF, C and UTL guy.

For me, the C spot can be taken by someone like a Kurt Suzuki for a couple million. I think you need to give Chance Sisco half a season at Triple-A. The goal would be for him to be the primary backstop in the second half and until then Joseph, Pena and Suzuki (if you could get him) would cover that position. That leaves a few million for RF and UTL. One guy that would be interesting to me is Coghlan. As for RF, that's tougher to fill with such limited funds. You'd almost have to try and flip Jimenez after his second half for an equally bad contract with some upside or consider a similar non-FA option.

[TINSTAAPP]

Well, the optimal scenario is to trade a player like Hardy so you can free up some payroll space to have more money to improve the roster. They also might be able to convince a team to trade for Ubaldo by pointing to his numbers in the second half. But if the Orioles aren't able to unload some of the high salary players, they really don't have much of a choice except to make trades for cheap players like they did for Travis Snider and David Lough a few years ago.

[backwardsk]

Well, the optimal scenario is to trade a player like Hardy so you can free up some payroll space to have more money to improve the roster. They also might be able to convince a team to trade for Ubaldo by pointing to his numbers in the second half. But if the Orioles aren't able to unload some of the high salary players, they really don't have much of a choice except to make trades for cheap players like they did for Travis Snider and David Lough a few years ago.

Putting Hardy's 10/5 benefits aside, who are you targeting to replace the hole at SS/3B? Flaherty or Janish full time?

Just seems like we'd end up creating a new hole with little benefit.

[Justinlstn]

I really like Britton, but with our financial constraints that we face he has to go. Hopefully we can get a good return from it and fill some holes.