The Orioles are dreaming if they think they can remain dormant in Free Agent Signing’s – and going into 2014 with the same club they resembled at the end of the 2013 year. Small transactions are just not going to cut it. Spending a projected $80 MIL – without superior pitching is not a good game plan to contend the AL East.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart/Payroll Expert) Follow @prosportsroster
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The Baltimore Orioles have not had a banner offseason, and their reluctance to up the ante in payroll might become the biggest reason why the team goes backwards in progression for 2014.
The franchise has Chris Davis in his 2nd year of Arbitration – and will enter the 8 figure salary ranger for the 2014 campaign. MLB Trade Rumors has listed him as possibly making $10 MIL based on their grid.
The organization is also likely to spend (on Arbitration or come to terms) $20 MIL on the players Matt Wieters, Bud Norris, Tommy Hunter, Nolan Reimold, Brian Matusz, Troy Patton and Steve Pearce.
Matt Wieters Highlights 2013
Chris Davis was awarded a 1 YR/$3.3 MIL contract in Arbitration for 2013, but based on his AL and MLB leading 53 HRs and 139 RBI. exactly what stratosphere of money will he enter based on those totals? The Baltimore franchise must consider 2014 to be their best chance for a deep playoff run. After this year, Davis will be making megabucks in 2014 and 2015 even in Arbitration – before hitting the Free Agency Market in 2016.
As of right now, the teams projected salary for 2014 is around the $80 MIL range. This is completely unacceptable to compete in the AL East.
Forget the model the Tampa Bay Rays have used for the last 6 years, Baltimore can draw fans with a decent team at Oriole Park At Camden Yards.
The club needs a Starter, and some help in the Bullpen. The club is also in need of some bench help. The management must spend at east $20 – $25 MIL more on payroll this year.
In 2013, the team neglected to pay any Free Agents, plus failed to upgrade on their Starting Rotation.
This website was on the stance that this was a mistake.
With the Grant Balfour contract retraction still fresh on everyone’s mind, the brass could really win back some good faith by inking a couple of guys to deals.
I think Kendrys Morales would be perfectly suited to be a Baltimore Orioles player. He can dill the DH role, and is also a backup 1B for Chris Davis for a few years – in case the man becomes to expensive keep the slugger.
Morales could probably be had for a 3 YR deal worth about $33 – $36 MIL. While this sounds like a lot of money, it would be a smart move to add 20 HRs and 80 RBI.
On the Bullpen front, the team is looking for a cheap replacement now that the Balfour situation is closed. They may be better of trying to start the season with Tommy Hunter manning the position.
A more pressing need would be to acquire a Starting Pitcher like Matt Garza. The guy has AL East and playoff experience.
Like last year, people seem to think that Kevin Gausman is the answer. That maybe the case in a few years, and with Dylan Bundy also recovering from surgery, this club needs to supplant the Staff with a solid #2 or #3 pitcher.
There are few aces that would come into the financial budget of the O’s, and I like the progress of Chris Tillman in heading towards a front end rotation Starter.
We wrote an article on Baltimore’s renewed attendance over the last few years, and with the Yankees not blowing the 2014 payroll off the mark yet, this season may be the clubs best time to contend.
J.J. Hardy is on the last year of his deal, Matt Wieters is not around forever, and all of your players will just keep upping their salaries for years.
Payroll 2014 – 2016 Three Year Outlook
| POS | PLAYER | LG | XP | Age | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||
| SP1- | Chris Tillman | ML | 5 | 25 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | ARB2 | |||
| SP2- | Bud Norris | ML | 4 | 28 | ARB2 | ARB3 | FA | |||
| SP3- | Miguel Gonzalez | ML | 5 | 29 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | ARB2 | |||
| SP4- | Jason Hammel | ML | 6 | 31 | FA | |||||
| SP5- | Wei-Yin Chen | ML | 0 | 28 | $4,072,000 | $4,750,000 | ||||
| SP6- | Josh Stinson | ML | 5 | 25 | NON-ARB1 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | |||
| SP7- | Liam Hendriks | ML | 4 | 24 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| SPS- | Steve Johnson | ML | 6 | 26 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| RHMR- | Tommy Hunter | ML | 4 | 27 | ARB2 | ARB3 | FA | |||
| RHMR- | Kevin Gausman | ML | 0 | 22 | NON-ARB1 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | |||
| RHMR- | Ryan Webb | ML | 7 | 27 | SIGNED | ARB3 | FA | |||
| LHMR- | Troy Patton | ML | 6 | 28 | ARB2 | ARB3 | ARB4 | |||
| LHMR- | T.J. McFarland | ML | 3 | 24 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| RHSU- | Darren O’Day | ML | 3 | 31 | $3,200,000 | $4,250,000 | ||||
| RHSU- | Francisco Rodriguez | ML | 3 | 31 | FA | |||||
| RHSU- | Edgmer Escalona | ML | 5 | 27 | SIGNED | ARB1 | ARB2 | |||
| RHSU- | Brad Brach | ML | 3 | 27 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| LHSU- | Brian Matusz | ML | 1 | 26 | ARB1 | ARB2 | ARB3 | |||
| CL- | ||||||||||
| 15 | $7,272,000 | $9,000,000 | $0 | |||||||
| POSITION PLAYERS | LEV | MiL | AGE | 2014 SALARY | 2015 SALARY | 2016 SALARY | ||||
| C- | Matt Wieters | ML | 2 | 27 | ARB2 | ARB3 | FA | |||
| 1B- | Chris Davis | ML | 5 | 27 | ARB2 | ARB3 | FA | |||
| 2B- | ||||||||||
| SS- | J.J. Hardy | ML | 4 | 32 | $7,417,000 | FA | ||||
| 3B- | Manuel Machado | ML | 0 | 21 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| LF- | ||||||||||
| CF- | Adam Jones | ML | 5 | 28 | $13,000,000 | $13,000,000 | $16,333,333 | |||
| RF- | Nick Markakis | ML | 2 | 30 | $15,530,000 | $17,500,000 | ||||
| DH- | ||||||||||
| C- | Steve Clevenger | ML | 6 | 27 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | ARB2 | |||
| 1B- | Steve Pearce | ML | 5 | 30 | $850,000 | ARB4 | FA | |||
| 3B- | ||||||||||
| UTL- | Ryan Flaherty | ML | 3 | 28 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | ARB2 | |||
| UTL- | Jonathan Schoop | ML | 2 | 22 | NON-ARB1 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | |||
| UTL- | Jemile Weeks | ML | 3 | 26 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| OF- | David Lough | ML | 4 | 28 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | ARB1 | |||
| OF- | Francisco Peguero | ML | 5 | 25 | $550,000 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | |||
| OF- | Henry Urrutia | ML | 0 | 26 | NON-ARB1 | NON-ARB2 | NON-ARB3 | |||
| OF- | Nolan Reimold | ML | 6 | 30 | $1,025,000 | ARB3 | FA | |||
| 9 | $38,372,000 | $30,500,000 | $16,333,333 |
Matt Wieters has 2 more years left of Arbitration before he hits the open market in 2016. Last year was a down year offensively for the Catcher, with an OPS of .704, compared to a .778 clip in 2011 – and a .764 mark in 2012. The guy has hit 20+ HRs in 2 of the last 3 years, and also won the Gold Glove in 2011 and 2012. Wieters is set to make in the $6 MIL range for salary this year after pulling down $5.5 MIL last year. There has been much speculation of the team possibly trading him down the road. Whatever the case, a strong 2014 campaign will help the Orioles either way.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
Note From Chuck Booth:
Jeff Kleiner has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.
We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.
If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.
Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis. After you click on it….Bookmark it. There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page. Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!
Authors for this post:
Jeff Kleiner: ”I have been a sports fan since the first Baseball game I went to at Comisky Park in Chicago in 1959, when baseball for me turned from black and white to color.
I have attended or watched thousands of games, always paying attention to statistics, rosters and salaries of all professional sports.
Luckily I had the advantage of watching WGN TV and seeing hundreds of games in the 60′s. Collecting Baseball Cards and then later dealing them gave me an extra sense of the sport, both good and bad.”
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