The Brewers have signed Gerardo Parra to one year contract

I really didn't know if the Brewers were going to be able to come to terms with Gerardo Parra in his 4th and final year of arbitration. Even though the Brewers are going to be using him as essentially their 4th outfielder, there is a strong case to be made he is good enough to be a regular. That meant there could have been a relatively large disconnect between the two sides in negotiations for his salary.

Both sides couldn't have been separated by more than a few hundred thousand dollars, but this is his walk year. Every penny counts as it will help form the basis from which he negotiates his next contract (and first as a free agent). For those reasons I thought the case might end up going to an arbitration hearing. But no one wants that and fortunately the two sides were able to come to an agreement and avoid a messy situation.

At the onset of the off-season I projected Gerardo Parra to get $6.5 million in 2015. MLB Trade Rumors projected a similar amount, $6.4 million. I'm rather pleased that the actual salary is under both projections. Gerardo Parra and the Brewers agreed to a contract worth $6.2375 million.

With all the arbitration figures now determined, here is the updated payroll projection:

This is the first time this off-season that we have a truly good idea what the actual Opening Day payroll will look like. At one point there were 4 arbitration eligible players. Marco Estrada was traded rather quickly leaving just the 3. But now their salaries are confirmed so there are no more mysteries.

That is unless the Brewers bring in another player from free agency or through a trade, which is something that will almost certainly happen. It's also possible a player gets traded away, though I think that is unlikely. However until one of those things does happens, this is what the Opening Day payroll will be.

Contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.