2012 Payroll Early Estimate

as part of the trade, so that frees up another $2 mil

It’s hard to resist not freeing up $2M by getting rid of McGehee and slotting in Taylor Green ($414k).

And equally hard not to want to free up $1M more by jettisoning Parra and going with a MLB minimum minor-leaguer instead.

With that money, Doug could potentially sign Barmes for SS ($4.5M), Hairston for super-sub/3B platoon ($2M?), an 8th-inning reliever ($2.5M?) and a situational lefty to pair with Loe.

But apart from that everything looks reasonable. Assuming that Doug can’t help himself and fills one of the RP slots with somebody like Hawkins for $4 million (I can’t think of a time when the Brewers did not have atleast one highish priced RP) it really shows how little money is available to fill the slots at 1B and SS.
Even at $4 million each for 1B and SS would – if everybody else was at the minimum – takes the payroll to over $90million.
I would not be surprised if they traded McGehee and re-signed JHJ to start at 3rd with Green on the bench.
Also I would prefer for them to give Gamel to get 1st shot at playing 1st and spend the money getting a better SS although it would not shock me if they cut Yuni and then bring him back at something less than the $6 million that he is due to make. There is nobody on the FA list of 1st Baseman that will be appreciably better than Gamel with spending alot of dollars (Actually outside of Prince and Albert I don’t know that any of the players on the Cots list would be that much better)

But Mitch Stetter probably belongs in there somewhere. I believe he’s Arb1.

Parra is probably gone too. Don’t see them wanting to pay that kind of money when he missed the entire 2011 season.

I have to believe they’ll at least wait and see what McGehee looks like in ST before letting him go.

According to Cot’s, his salary is only $6M next season (plus 1/8th of his $2.3M signing bonus).

And if they would take a rental in Greinke or Marcum to go for a run one more time with Phillips, Votto, et al….

Marcum for Yonder Alonso would be a pretty straight up even trade and they probably balance each other out production wise for 2012.

Takes about $5 million off of the salary burden and allows the team to purse either a pitcher or shortstop and spend some more $.

Intra division is pretty rare for obvious reasons, but wonder if they would bite on a Greinke for Alonso/Grandal and one more big piece sort of trade. That then even frees up more space on the payroll without sacrificing too much production.

There are a few similar posts out there, but this one is the most comprehensive/easiest to read.

You might want to consider editting your post to take MLBtr’s arbitration estimates into account. :

You show us paying $3.5M for KRod’s option. It’s actually a $4M option because of the extra 500k paid in exchange for removing his GF clause.

However, the Mets are paying $3.5M of that option, per Ken Rosenthal

5:05PM: Rodriguez’s buyout will now increase from $3.5MM to $4MM with the Mets paying the original buyout and the Brewers paying the remainder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. K-Rod’s vesting option now kicks in with the same 55 games finished, though the clause is now meaningless (via Twitter).

link

That puts the Brewers on the hook for $500k, not $3.5M

Pretty sure DM will do it. He can’t resist. Who’s it gonna be?

we’re keeping K-Rod. Melvin made a comment in the past couple of days that made it sound like he was not very comfortable with where the current payroll.

Melvin, on where #Brewers already are with 2012 payroll: “We’ve stretched it well beyond where we wanted to go.”

-@Haudricourt

if everything stays where it is right now, and my estimates are correct, and two league minimum guys fill out those last two spots, beginning payroll would be at $98.15M.

So, if the team were to trade Rodriguez and eat $6M of the $11M, plus the fill-in salary of $480k, the payroll could go to $93.63M, which would doubtless be more comfortable for Doug.

to add Fielders new contract in there. :(

It’s finally setting in the big guy is gone. I always ripped on Cleveland for being babies when Lebron left. Now I know why they acted the way they did.

but I just updated this post. Actual salary running total will be on the left, then my original estimate, then MLBTR’s, per edit in original article.