Post#42 » by Ex-hippie » Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:55 pm
I'm definitely on board with ARod if he wants to come back. Let's just say, however, we're not his choice. And let's face it, he's going to the high bidder, be it the Yankees or the Cubs or the Yomiuri Giants. Here's a modest, attainable plan for the offseason.
1. Trade Sexson, a mid-level prospect and $5 million to Detroit for Chris Shelton. (Obviously a salary dump; the prospect is the equivalent of the late first-round picks the Suns gave the Sonics to take Kurt Thomas.)
2. Re-sign Broussard for 3 years, $15 million.
3. Trade Wladimir Balentien to Atlanta for Kelly Johnson. Make Johnson the starting second baseman.
4. Sign Adam Dunn to a 6-year, $100 million contract (average $16.67 million per year, starting at $15 million in 2008).
5. Decline the team option on Weaver; non-tender Horacio Ramirez. Wave bye-bye to Reitsma and Rhodes.
6. Decline the team option on Guillen. I had thought it was a player option, but the page that Basketball Jesus linked says it's a team option with a $500k buyout.
7. Sign Jason Jennings for 3 years, $18 million ($5.5. the first year, then $6m, then $6.5m). Slight discount based on the lousy year he just had. Maybe give him some incentives. Figure he'll be happy not to pitch in Coors Field or Minute Maid Park or any other stadium named after a beverage.
The 2008 lineup (batting L/R/S)
1. Ichiro cf (L)
2. K. Johnson 2b (L)
3. A. Jones rf (R)
4. A. Dunn dh (L)
5. A. Beltre 3b (R)
6. R. Ibanez lf (L)
7. K. Johjima c (R)
8. B. Broussard 1b (L)
9. Y. Betancourt ss (R)
Position backups (batting L/R/S)
J. Clement c (L)
J. Lopez 2b-ss (R)
J. Vidro 2b-of-util (maybe 3b?) (S)
C. Shelton 1b-dh (R)
W. Bloomquist util (R)
2008 starting rotation (throwing L/R)
1. F. Hernandez (R)
2. J. Washburn (L)
3. M. Batista (R)
4. J. Jennings (R)
5. Competition: R. Rowland-Smith (L), R. Feierabend (L), C. Baek (R), B. Morrow (R). Most losers go to the bullpen.
Here's what I figure the roster will look like, with 2008 salaries. Salary figures with question marks after them mean I'm just guessing. They tend to be small numbers, though, so the errors won't make much difference.
Pitchers
C. Baek 400,000 (?)
M. Batista 9,000,000
R. Feierabend 350,000 (?)
F. Hernandez 500,000 (?)
J. Jennings 5,500,000
B. Morrow 400,000 (?)
E. O'Flaherty 500,000 (?)
J. Putz 3,400,000
R. Rowland-Smith 350,000 (?)
G. Sherrill 750,000
J. Washburn 10,000,000
Catchers
J. Clement 350,000
K. Johjima 5,200,000
Infielders
A. Beltre 12,000,000
Y. Betancourt 1,250,000
W. Bloomquist 950,000
B. Broussard 5,000,000
K. Johnson 750,000 (?)
J. Lopez 500,000
C. Shelton 400,000 (?)
Outfielders
R. Ibanez 5,500,000
A. Dunn 15,000,000
A. Jones 400,000 (?)
I. Suzuki 17,000,000
J. Vidro 8,500,000
Other salary obligations
R. Sexson trade to Detroit 5,000,000
J. Guillen buyout 500,000
Total 2008 payroll: $109,450,000
Compared to total 2007 opening day payroll: $106,460,833
After 2008, Johjima, Vidro, Ibanez and Bloomquist come off the books, freeing up just under $20 million of annual payroll. With luck, Johjima can be replaced by Clement. Ibanez will have to be re-signed or replaced with a comparably paid player. We can replace Vidro or Bloomquist with something much cheaper. That means we'll have somewhere around $10 million to play with in the offseason.
2009 will be the big year of financial freedom, as Washburn, Batista and Beltre expire and free up over $30 million of annual payroll. We'll need to hold onto a good chunk of the money we save on those players to re-sign people like Felix and Putz to long-term deals. Hopefully we won't need to spend the money to replace our expiring contracts -- at that time we'll see where we are with the likes of Chris Tillman, the losers of the '07 rotation battle and Carlos Triunfel.
It can be done.
