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Originally Posted by KingPriest2
There was a article by Flanagan about this around 2 weeks ago. They are all basically signed til 2008 and we will have a payroll of $50 mil
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Posted on Wed, Apr. 06, 2005
Royals could afford to keep core players through 2008
JEFFREY FLANAGAN
You will hear the Royals talk a lot over the next several years about their core of young players. That is now the standard language of all small-market teams.
Small-market teams will try to keep their core of young players together as long as they can, and away from vultures such as George Steinbrenner, while at the same time keeping an eye on their break-even point.
As the Royals look to the future, their break-even point in terms of payroll in three or four years is likely to be around $50 million. (Remember that there is another collective-bargaining agreement coming in 2007 that could sway that figure.)
So will the Royals be able to afford their core in, say, 2008? The answer would appear to be yes.
Let's take a totally hypothetical look at what the roster and payroll might look like in 2008, taking into consideration the players' service time, which evolves from pre-arbitration to arbitration to free agency. We'll also make the huge assumption that this core becomes a highly productive one.
Pitchers: Jeremy Affeldt would be entering free agency and could easily command $7 million from the Royals. The rest of the core of pitchers would be arbitration or pre-arbitration players. Here are the estimates: Zack Greinke ($2.75 million), Denny Bautista ($1.75 million), Runelvys Hernandez ($5 million), Mike MacDougal ($1.2 million), Jaime Cerda ($700,000), Nate Field ($700,000), Andy Sisco ($700,000), Mike Wood ($700,000), J.P. Howell ($360,000), Luis Cota ($360,00), Ambiorix Burgos ($360,000).
Catchers: John Buck ($1.5 million), Paul Phillips ($450,000).
Infielders: Angel Berroa is under contract for $4.75 million. Mike Sweeney's present contract will have expired, but it's possible that the Royals could get Sweeney, who will be 35 in 2008, for perhaps $6 million as a DH then. Ruben Gotay ($1.2 million), Mark Teahen ($1.2 million), Andres Blanco ($450,000), Justin Huber ($450,000).
Outfielders: David DeJesus ($1.5 million), Mitch Maier ($360,000), Chris Lubanski ($360,000), Billy Butler ($360,000), Unknown free-agent bopper ($10 million). The Royals, in this hypothetical situation, would be able to afford a $10 million free agent.
Total cost of the payroll for 2008: $50,160,000