Do Not Be Worried About Stanton's Contract

Here we see Mr. Stanton looking up at his salary.

Professional athletes get a lot of flak over how much money they make. You've no doubt heard something along the lines of "it's ridiculous that so-and-so makes that much money". What those people fail to realize (or choose to ignore) is that professional sports rakes in billions of dollars, and that money is going to end up in somebody's pocket. Would you rather the owners take the majority of that money, while the guys people pay that money to see do all the work?

It's the exact opposite of the situation in college sports, where so many people are up in arms over the fact that while Ohio State University football is worth $1.5 billion the players see none of that. Well, you can say they get some of that through tuition and food per diems, but you get my point. Besides, I don't want to touch that subject with Daniel's finger. Heck, I'm probably going to regret bringing it up in the first place.

The point I wanted to make there is that pro athletes make the money, and people are pissed. But when college athletes don't get that money, people are still pissed. 

Talk about hypocrisy.

And that's not the only place where so many people lose perspective when it comes to the salaries of professional athletes. Back when Giancarlo Stanton signed that 13 year extension with the Marlins I heard so many people talk about the fact that Florida would be on the hook for $32 million in 2025 (assuming he didn't opt out, or... you know... get traded), when Giancarlo is 35 years old and has likely taken a step or two back.

On the surface that sounds like it could hurt. Even on a team like the Yankees, who have one of the highest payrolls in the league (I like not having to say they have the highest), you're talking about more than 15% of your team payroll for one player. But for a team like Miami, whose payroll is a little over $95 million, that player salary is crippling.

So what do the Yankees do if Stanton doesn't opt out, and they are on the hook for $96 million for his ages 35-37 seasons (he has a club option for another $25 million in 2028, with a $10 million buyout)? Well... nothing.

Am I being so nonchalant about this because it's not my money?

Well... sort of, yes. But the biggest reason I don't worry about that is because of inflation. In 2011 the highest paid player, Alex Rodriguez, made $32 million. The highest paid player this season, Clayton Kershaw, will make $35.5 million. That's an increase of about 11%.

So it's possible that the highest paid player in 2025 could be making over $39 million. That's why when people say Bryce Harper, and possibly Manny Machado, could make $40 million a year on their next contract, you shouldn't say they're out of their minds.

So going back to Stanton's $32 million, that means there's a chance he could be making 20% less than the highest paid player in 2025. To put that in perspective, Jason Heyward's salary of just under $28.2 million is about 20% less than Kershaw's. And that's for a guy that's been a below average hitter for the past two plus years. But you don't hear about how his contract is crippling the Chicago Cubs, are you?

Hell, back in February, Jon Heyman wrote that the Cubs have one of the best chances to sign Bryce Harper this offseason. There's all the proof you need that the Cubs will not be hampered by that Jason Heyward contract.

And neither will the Yankees when it comes to Giancarlo's deal.

I can't say with certainty whether or not I want Stanton to opt-out after the 2020 season. Chances are I will be hoping he does, because at that point he will be 30 years old and I can't imagine being okay with the Yankees signing a 30 year old to a seven year contract. But either way I'm not going to predict doom for the team based on what happens there. If the farm system is unable to produce like they are now, then I may be a bit worried. But I'm going to keep the faith.

Arbitration Could Make or Break the Yankees Offseason

Photo Credit to New York Daily News

Good morning Yankees family and welcome to another slow offseason day here in the Bronx and around Major League Baseball. What do we know? We know the Yankees made the biggest splash this offseason, to date anyway, with the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton. We know the Yankees unloaded salary with the Chase Headley and Starlin Castro trades, and continue to look to unload salary, with the hopes of getting under the luxury tax threshold of $197 million. We also know that the Yankees still need or want at least one of a second baseman, third baseman and a pitcher, either a reliever or starter. The Yankees look stacked right now, but it could all be for nothing if the team cannot get under the luxury tax threshold keeping them out of the Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and possibly the Clayton Kershaw sweepstakes among others before the 2019 season. While many see the Yankees payroll as it stands today and thinks the team has X amount of dollars available to spend one must remember a few things when calculating payroll including one such event that happens here in about a week, arbitration.

Arbitration could make or break the Yankees offseason and it could be a huge indicator of what is to come for the club as far as their offseason spending goes. If the Yankees can’t come to terms with their players and/or the team gets hit with a number bigger than expected through the arbitration process the team may begin scrambling trying to unload more salary, see David Robertson as possibly the first one to go. If the team comes out better than expected than you may see the team dip their toes into the free agent market while also trying to unload more salary, just maybe this time with a Jacoby Ellsbury while eating salary.

The Yankees have eight arbitration-eligible players this offseason, seen below with MLB Trade Rumors projected salaries in parenthesis, that the Yankees will either have to sign or will go through the arbitration process with on January 12.

Adam Warren ($3.1 million)

Didi Gregorius ($9 million)

Dellin Betances ($4.4 million)

Sonny Gray ($6.6 million)

Austin Romine ($1.2 million)

Aaron Hicks ($2.9 million)

Tommy Kahnle ($1.3 million)

Chasen Shreve ($900K)

Now the Yankees reportedly have $30 million set aside and budgeted for the arbitration process this offseason and a quick add up of those numbers from MLB Trade Rumors above comes up to just $29.4 million. That gives the Yankees about $600K to play with, a scary thought when you consider that MLBTR is generally close with their predictions, but not always 100% accurate. If just one player, Didi Gregorius or Dellin Betances for example, goes and gets more money than expected the Yankees offseason is thrown into a complete loop upside down.

So many Yankees fans are wondering why the team has been slow to acquire Gerrit Cole from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yu Darvish off the free agent market or any infielder to speak of but you may just have your answer right there. The team is possibly waiting for these numbers to be exchanged before pulling the trigger on anything, and that’s smart if the team still wants to get under the $197 million luxury tax threshold. Patience and being patient sucks Yankees family, but remember that in Brian Cashman we trust. The “Ninja” always has a plan. 

Why is getting under the Luxury Tax threshold an issue?

While I was once big into the team's payroll I shied away from it the past couple of years. I just couldn't spend any more time thinking about money after years in which the team didn't seem to care about it at all. At least while the team still had large contracts such as those for Alex Rodriguez around.

Sorry, Alex. No more Yankee money for you.

Once the contracts for ARod and CC Sabathia finish up, to go along with the emergence of guys like Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Luis Severino, it seemed inevitable that the Yankees were going to get under the Luxury Tax threshold for 2018. With that, their luxury tax percentage would reset, allowing them to sign future free agents such as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, or Clayton Kershaw without having to worry about the tax hit they would take.

Earlier this season I was thinking about all of this and took a quick look to see if it would really happen. Hell, the Yankees have been talking about getting under the Luxury Tax threshold for years with no success. Would that change this time? Especially seeing as how the team is not at all in "rebuilding mode"?

Let's start by looking at the projected active roster, along with the player's salaries, for 2018......
Note: I'm not good with projecting arbitration salaries, but I feel my numbers are not that far off.

C- Gary Sanchez ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
1B- Greg Bird ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
2B- Starlin Castro $10.857m
SS- Didi Gregorius ~$8m (made $5.1m in his second year of arbitration this season)
3B- Chase Headley $13m
LF- Brett Gardner $11.5m
CF- Jacoby Ellsbury $21.143m
RF- Aaron Judge ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
DH- Clint Frazier ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

BE- Aaron Hicks ~$3m (made $1.35m in his first year of arbitration this season)
BE- Austin Romine ~$1.5m (made $.805m in his first year of arbitration this season)
BE- Ronald Torreyes ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
BE- Garrett Cooper ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

SP1- Luis Severino ~$.7 (pre-arbitration)
SP2- Sonny Gray ~$6m (made $3.575m in his first year of arbitration this season)
SP3- Jordan Montgomery ~$.7 (pre-arbitration)
SP4-
SP5-

CL- Aroldis Chapman $17.2m
RP- Dellin Betances ~$5m (made $3m in his first year of arbitration this season)
RP- David Robertson $13m
RP- Tommy Kahnle ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
RP- Chad Green ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
RP- Adam Warren ~$3.5m (made $2.29m in his second year of arbitration this season)
RP- Bryan Mitchell ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

Before adding those numbers up there are a couple of more things to add. One is that the Yankees will still owe the Houston Astros $5.5 million as part of the trade that sent Brian McCann their way. The second thing is that the team payroll for luxury tax purposes is based on the 40-man roster, therefore you need to add about $9 million (assuming the final 15 spots are filled by players making the league minimum).

Therefore, at this point, the Yankees are on the hook for around $137.9 million next season. I should note that any team will want to have some money set aside for mid-season pickups, which most often occur via trades (see the trade for Sonny Gray as an example).

Now for some questions about this projected roster...

1. How will the Yankees fill the last two starting spots? 

I believe one of them will be filled from within. One man that I can see getting the call is Chance Adams, who has started 21 games in AAA and ERA of 2.89. Or we could see Caleb Smith or Domingo German. Maybe even Domingo Acevedo. As for the other spot... more on that later.

2. Can Greg Bird stay healthy? 

I'm not ready to give up on Bird being able to stay healthy, but after missing all of 2016 and a large chunk of this season, I wouldn't feel totally comfortable relying on him to take over first base regularly next season. However, I can see him platooning with Garrett Cooper, which should help Greg stay healthy.

And don't forget that should Bird get injured, and Cooper can not be relied upon to play regularly, the Yankees could move Chase Headley to first base and call up Miguel Andujar to take over third. Not to mention that Ronald Torreyes did a good job filling in for Starlin Castro while he was on the DL this season.

3. Will the Yankees trade away Brett Gardner and/or Jacoby Ellsbury?

This seems like a certainty... at least for one of those two. Clint Frazier is more than ready to play regularly, and to get that done I believe at least one of those two players needs to go. While I lean towards Gardner getting dealt, I can't say for sure as dealing away Ellsbury should be something the team really wants to get done, and doing that after his solid season in 2017 would probably be the best bet.

A trade of Gardy or Ells would also open up more playing time for Aaron Hicks, who I believe deserves more than being a 4th outfielder.

4. Will Masahiro Tanaka opt-out?

Remember how I left the first question? Yeah, this is where the rest of the answer to that question lies.

This will probably be the biggest question the Yankees will face heading into the off-season. However, I don't think the answer will negatively effect the Yankees at all.

Either 'Hiro (why am I the only person that calls him this?) opts out, leaving the team to find his replacement to go along with  the aforementioned starter from the first question, or Tanaka stays and rounds out what would be a very nice starting rotation (Severino, Gray, Tanaka, Montgomery, and ?). No matter what, though, I believe the Yankees will spend big on Tanaka, or a free agent like Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish (mind you, the free agents would likely cost more than the $22 million the team would have to pay Tanaka if he doesn't opt-out).

That's right, Hal... somebody's getting paid.

That's the thing! The Yankees should be able to spend big on that rotation spot without having to worry about the Luxury Tax threshold. Let's take a look at that roster again, only this time I'll include those pitchers...

C- Gary Sanchez ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
1B- Greg Bird ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
2B- Starlin Castro $10.857m
SS- Didi Gregorius ~$8m (made $5.1m in his second year of arbitration this season)
3B- Chase Headley $13m
LF- Brett Gardner $11.5m
CF- Jacoby Ellsbury $21.143m
RF- Aaron Judge ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
DH- Clint Frazier ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

BE- Aaron Hicks ~$3m (made $1.35m in his first year of arbitration this season)
BE- Austin Romine ~$1.5m (made $.805m in his first year of arbitration this season)
BE- Ronald Torreyes ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
BE- Garrett Cooper ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

SP1- Luis Severino ~$.7 (pre-arbitration)
SP2- Sonny Gray ~$6m (made $3.575m in his first year of arbitration this season)
SP3- Masahiro Tanaka/Jake Arrieta/Yu Darvish $27m (I'll go big on money here just in case)
SP4- Jordan Montgomery ~$.7 (pre-arbitration)
SP5- Chance Adams/Domingo German/Domingo Acevedo ~.7m

CL- Aroldis Chapman $17.2m
RP- Dellin Betances ~$5m (made $3m in his first year of arbitration this season)
RP- David Robertson $13m
RP- Tommy Kahnle ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
RP- Chad Green ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)
RP- Adam Warren ~$3.5m (made $2.29m in his second year of arbitration this season)
RP- Bryan Mitchell ~$.7m (pre-arbitration)

After the $9 million for the final 15 spots on the 40-man roster, that gives us a total of $165.6 million. If you want to figure $10 million for mid-season pickup money, that still leaves the Yankees with $21.4 million to spend on a possible regular DH. And that's without figuring in any savings the team would get should they trade away Gardner and/or Ellsbury (I assume their replacements on the roster would cost less, even if the Yankees picked up some of the remaining salaries).

Honestly, I feel like I'm missing something, because every other writer doesn't see the Yankees getting under the Luxury Tax threshold next season as a certainty at all. Especially if they were to pay upwards of $27 million for a starting pitcher. So please go easy on me if I missed something.

Otherwise, the future of the Yankees is looking better than I already thought it did.

Quick Hit: MLB Player’s Salaries to Hit $4 Billion in 2016

Major League Baseball is ready to set a mark that the NFL, NBA and NHL have never hit and will likely never hit, MLB’s salary is about to hit the $4 billion mark. The American League will make up nearly a quarter of a billion dollars more than the National League according to post-season 2015 numbers according to Yahoo Sports.

These numbers will change before Opening Day as many free agents still find themselves without a job as we near Valentine’s Day and more importantly pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training camps. Names like Tyler Clippard and Yovani Gallardo will simply continue to push these numbers higher and higher leaving many to wonder why so many young people are still choosing the NFL and NBA over Major League Baseball.

The #1 salary in Major League Baseball as it stands today is the Los Angeles Dodgers at $235 million if my numbers are correct while the New York Yankees come it at #2 with a $229 million team payroll. These salary figures come from Cots Baseball Contracts and Baseball Prospectus. What’s funny is neither of these two teams have dipped significantly into the free agent waters and in the case of the Yankees, not at all. Los Angeles’s biggest acquisitions were the Howie Kendrick re-sign and the additions of Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda.

Major League Baseball is now over a $10 billion and growing machine and it shows no signs of slowing down or letting up. There is an absolute influx of money in the game right now and with the Chicago Cubs television network on deck and the recent $1 billion TV deal with the St. Louis Cardinals the sky seems to be the limit on this thing. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it. 

Complete List of Players Who Filed for Salary Arbitration

VIA THE USA TODAY:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

BALTIMORE (8) — Brad Brach, rhp; Zach Britton, lhp; Ryan Flaherty, 2b; Miguel Gonzalez, rhp; Manny Machado, 3b; Brian Matusz, lhp; Chris Tillman, rhp; Mark Trumbo, of-1b.

BOSTON (3) — Joe Kelly, rhp; Robbie Ross, lhp; Junichi Tazawa, rhp.

CHICAGO (4) — Avisail Garcia, of; Dan Jennings, lhp; Brett Lawrie, 3b; Zach Putnam, rhp.

CLEVELAND (5) — Cody Allen, rhp; Lonnie Chisenhall, 3b-rf; Jeff Manship, rhp; Bryan Shaw, rhp; Josh Tomlin, rhp.

DETROIT (4) — Jose Iglesias, ss; J.D. Martinez, of; Andrew Romine, inf; Justin Wilson, lhp.

HOUSTON (6) — Jason Castro, c; Josh Fields, rhp; Evan Gattis, dh; Marwin Gonzalez, inf; Dallas Keuchel, lhp; Luis Valbuena, 3b.

KANSAS CITY (7) — Drew Butera, c; Lorenzo Cain, of; Louis Coleman, rhp; Tony Cruz, c; Danny Duffy, lhp; Jarrod Dyson, of; Mike Moustakas, 3b.

LOS ANGELES (3) — Kole Calhoun, of; Garrett Richards, rhp; Fernando Salas, rhp.

MINNESOTA (6) — Eduardo Escobar, ss; Casey Fien, rhp; Kevin Jepsen, rhp; Tommy Milone, lhp; Eduardo Nunez, inf; Trevor Plouffe, 3b.

NEW YORK (6) — Dustin Ackley, 2b-of; Aroldis Chapman, lhp; Nathan Eovaldi, rhp;Didi Gregorius, ss; Ivan Nova, rhp; Michael Pineda, rhp.

OAKLAND (4) — Yonder Alonso, 1b; Josh Reddick, of; Fernando Rodriguez, rhp;Danny Valencia, 3b.

SEATTLE (3) — Charlie Furbush, lhp; Leonys Martin, of; Evan Scribner, rhp.

TAMPA BAY (10) — Alex Cobb, rhp; Hank Conger, c; Logan Forsythe, 2b; Brandon Guyer, of; Desmond Jennings, of; Jake McGee, lhp; Logan Morrison, 1b; Erasmo Ramirez, rhp; Rene Rivera, c; Drew Smyly, lhp.

TEXAS (7) — Robinson Chirinos, c; Jake Diekman, lhp; Mitch Moreland, 1b;Jurickson Profar, 2b-ss; Tanner Scheppers, rhp; Shawn Tolleson, rhp; Tom Wilhelmsen, rhp.

TORONTO (8) — Brett Cecil, lhp; Jesse Chavez, rhp; Steve Delabar, rhp; Josh Donaldson, 3b; Drew Hutchison, rhp; Aaron Loup, lhp; Michael Saunders, of; Drew Storen, rhp.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ARIZONA (7) — Welington Castillo, c; Patrick Corbin, lhp; Rubby De La Rosa, rhp;Randall Delgado, rhp; Daniel Hudson, rhp; Shelby Miller, rhp; A.J. Pollock, of.

ATLANTA (2) — Arodys Vizcaino, rhp; Chris Withrow, rhp.

CHICAGO (7) — Jake Arrieta, rhp; Chris Coghlan, of; Justin Grimm, rhp; Hector Rondon, rhp; Pedro Strop, rhp; Adam Warren, rhp; Travis Wood, lhp.

CINCINNATI (2) — Zack Cozart, ss; J.J. Hoover, rhp.

COLORADO (3) — Nolan Arenado, 3b; Charlie Blackmon, of; DJ LeMahieu, 2b.

LOS ANGELES (6) — Luis Avilan, lhp; Yasmani Grandal, c; Chris Hatcher, rhp;Kenley Jansen, rhp; Justin Turner, inf; Scott Van Slyke, of.

MIAMI (8) — Carter Capps, rhp; Jose Fernandez, rhp; Dee Gordon, 2b; Adeiny Hechavarria, ss; Tom Koehler, rhp; Bryan Morris, rhp; David Phelps, rhp; A.J. Ramos, rhp.

MILWAUKEE (3) — Wily Peralta, rhp; Jean Segura, ss; Will Smith, lhp.

NEW YORK (9) — Lucas Duda, 1b; Josh Edgin, lhp; Jeurys Familia, rhp; Matt Harvey, rhp; Jenrry Mejia, rhp; Addison Reed, rhp; Ruben Tejada, ss; Carlos Torres, rhp; Neil Walker, 2b.

PHILADELPHIA (3) — Freddy Galvis, ss; Jeanmar Gomez, rhp; Jeremy Hellickson, rhp.

PITTSBURGH (7) — Francisco Cervelli, c; Jared Hughes, rhp; Jeff Locke, lhp; Mark Melancon, rhp; Jordy Mercer, ss; Chris Stewart, c; Tony Watson, lhp.

ST. LOUIS (4) — Matt Adams, 1b; Seth Maness, rhp; Brandon Moss, of-1b; Trevor Rosenthal, rhp.

SAN DIEGO (4) — Andrew Cashner, rhp; Derek Norris, c; Drew Pomeranz, lhp; Tyson Ross, rhp.

SAN FRANCISCO (2) — Brandon Belt, 1b; George Kontos, rhp.

WASHINGTON (5) — Danny Espinosa, 2b; Wilson Ramos, c; Anthony Rendon, 2b-3b; Ben Revere, of; Stephen Strasburg, rhp.

USA Today: The Best Team Realistic Money Can Buy

I love reading the USA Today, they always have great content put up on their site that you don't see at every other site. For instance the crew over there put together the bets team they felt that they could with a realistic payroll. One member of the New York Yankees made the cut. CLICK HERE for the entire post with the write ups and such and see below as I sample the team as an excerpt here on the blog.

C- Buster Posey
1B - Paul Goldschmidt
2B - Logan Forsythe
SS- Brandon Crawford
3B - Josh Donaldson
LF- Starlin Marte
CF- Mike Trout
RF- Bryce Harper
DH - Kendrys Morales

BN - AJ Ellis (catcher)
BN - Brock Holt (utility infielder)
BN - Brandon Guyer (utility outfielder)
BN - Ben Zobrist (absolutely freaking everywhere)
BN - Brett Wallace (first base and third base as well as pinch hitter for power)

SP - Dallas Keuchel
SP - Zack Greinke
SP - Carlos Martinez
SP - Marco Estrada
SP - Hector Santiago (no Luis Severino?)

SP - Jeurys Familia
SU - Dellin Betances
RHP - Darren O'Day
LHP - Tony Watson
LOOGY - Tommy Layne
LRP - Chris Young

ICYMI: Were They Worth It?

From Bryan Van Dusen:





For a while after The Greedy Pinstripes opened, I would constantly write about salaries. I pretty much became obsessed with the team's total payroll, and how their players fit into it. I would write about how much money was allegedly on the books, and whether they would or would not sign one player or another. It took me a while to realize what many others already knew... it was a waste of time. Not only did I not know how much the team was willing to spend, but it ultimately didn't matter to me as a fan because I was not the one writing the payroll checks.

"There are people that still write checks? Hello! It's called a debit card!"

I don't mean to say that I've completely abandoned the idea of player salaries and the team's payroll. I'm not going to waste my time saying the team could sign Jason Heyward, David Price, and others, while putting big money players like Carlos Beltran on the bench. Major League Baseball is a business, which means the league and its teams are out to make money, therefore team owners are going to treat it as such.

One thing I bring up often when talking about money is the Dollar Values done at Fangraphs. No, I don't think it's a perfect formula, but I do believe it's a good way to measure a player's worth. For example, Fangraphs lists Bryce Harper as being worth $75.9 million last season. You may say he's probably only worth like $70 million, but the fact is he's one of... if not the most valuable hitter in MLB.

So I decided to take a look at the Dollar Values placed on players from the 2015 Yankees. You're probably going to notice that the following chart doesn't include every player that spent time on the team's Active Roster this season, but it does cover those that spent a significant amount of time on it.

Let's start with those that actually cost the team money last season.

Sabathia was the biggest waste for the Yankees in 2015, giving the team nearly $15 million less on the field than they gave him on his paycheck. Ellsbury wasn't much better, as the Yankees spent a little over $14 million more on him than he gave to the team. Drew was another waste for the team, as his salary was $3.7 million higher than what he gave the team in performance. While Tanaka is on the list of players that under-performed their salaries, if he could have made five or six more starts he would have likely covered his salary and then some. The teams loss with Headley was minimal, however I believe he'll make up for that during the last three years of his contract. Oh, and as for ARod, many would have taken him as a $64 million loss spread out over his final three years, so a loss of only $600,000 this season was fantastic.

Now for those that gave the Yankees more than the team gave them.

Take another look at that chart above. That list of "plusses" is pretty nice. Pineda (+26.1), Gregorius (+24.146), and Eovaldi (+21.9) would have been welcome by any owner in baseball. And, although a number of Yankees fans feel otherwise, Yankees brass has to love using young players. Just look at what young guys like Gregorius did... Betances (+18.692), Warren (+16.528), Wilson (+11.244), Bird (+6.9), Murphy (+4.981), Severino (+4.8), Heathcott (+2.1), and Refsnyder (+.7). Finally, you can add another $29 million for the Yankees, thanks to Gardner (+7.9), Miller (+6.9), Young (+6.9), McCann (+6.5), Nova (+.4), and Beltran (+.4) all outperforming their salaries.

You may have noticed that I haven't talked about Mark Teixeira. Even though he was technically a "loss" for the Yankees last season, if it wasn't for an injury he would have outplayed his salary by quite a bit.

In summary, how about that total? The team's total payroll for 2015 was a little under $218 million. The total for the players in that chart ($332.9 million) means the Yankees got around $115 million more out of their team than they had to pay. I would call that a big win for Hal and friends.

So if anybody brings up the Yankees eating a player's contract, or at least part of it in order to facilitate a trade (*cough*Ellsbury*cough*), you don't have to feel bad for Hal, Brian, Joe or anybody else employed by the New York Yankees.

"Yeah, we're all doing just fine."

Were They Worth It?

For a while after The Greedy Pinstripes opened, I would constantly write about salaries. I pretty much became obsessed with the team's total payroll, and how their players fit into it. I would write about how much money was allegedly on the books, and whether they would or would not sign one player or another. It took me a while to realize what many others already knew... it was a waste of time. Not only did I not know how much the team was willing to spend, but it ultimately didn't matter to me as a fan because I was not the one writing the payroll checks.

"There are people that still write checks? Hello! It's called a debit card!"

I don't mean to say that I've completely abandoned the idea of player salaries and the team's payroll. I'm not going to waste my time saying the team could sign Jason Heyward, David Price, and others, while putting big money players like Carlos Beltran on the bench. Major League Baseball is a business, which means the league and its teams are out to make money, therefore team owners are going to treat it as such.

One thing I bring up often when talking about money is the Dollar Values done at Fangraphs. No, I don't think it's a perfect formula, but I do believe it's a good way to measure a player's worth. For example, Fangraphs lists Bryce Harper as being worth $75.9 million last season. You may say he's probably only worth like $70 million, but the fact is he's one of... if not the most valuable hitter in MLB.

So I decided to take a look at the Dollar Values placed on players from the 2015 Yankees. You're probably going to notice that the following chart doesn't include every player that spent time on the team's Active Roster this season, but it does cover those that spent a significant amount of time on it.

Let's start with those that actually cost the team money last season.

Sabathia was the biggest waste for the Yankees in 2015, giving the team nearly $15 million less on the field than they gave him on his paycheck. Ellsbury wasn't much better, as the Yankees spent a little over $14 million more on him than he gave to the team. Drew was another waste for the team, as his salary was $3.7 million higher than what he gave the team in performance. While Tanaka is on the list of players that under-performed their salaries, if he could have made five or six more starts he would have likely covered his salary and then some. The teams loss with Headley was minimal, however I believe he'll make up for that during the last three years of his contract. Oh, and as for ARod, many would have taken him as a $64 million loss spread out over his final three years, so a loss of only $600,000 this season was fantastic.

Now for those that gave the Yankees more than the team gave them.

Take another look at that chart above. That list of "plusses" is pretty nice. Pineda (+26.1), Gregorius (+24.146), and Eovaldi (+21.9) would have been welcome by any owner in baseball. And, although a number of Yankees fans feel otherwise, Yankees brass has to love using young players. Just look at what young guys like Gregorius did... Betances (+18.692), Warren (+16.528), Wilson (+11.244), Bird (+6.9), Murphy (+4.981), Severino (+4.8), Heathcott (+2.1), and Refsnyder (+.7). Finally, you can add another $29 million for the Yankees, thanks to Gardner (+7.9), Miller (+6.9), Young (+6.9), McCann (+6.5), Nova (+.4), and Beltran (+.4) all outperforming their salaries.

You may have noticed that I haven't talked about Mark Teixeira. Even though he was technically a "loss" for the Yankees last season, if it wasn't for an injury he would have outplayed his salary by quite a bit.

In summary, how about that total? The team's total payroll for 2015 was a little under $218 million. The total for the players in that chart ($332.9 million) means the Yankees got around $115 million more out of their team than they had to pay. I would call that a big win for Hal and friends.

So if anybody brings up the Yankees eating a player's contract, or at least part of it in order to facilitate a trade (*cough*Ellsbury*cough*), you don't have to feel bad for Hal, Brian, Joe or anybody else employed by the New York Yankees.

"Yeah, we're all doing just fine."

MLBTR: Yankees Arbitration Salaries for 2016

MLB Trade Rumors has taken their yearly predictions at the salary arbitration numbers for all 30 Major League Baseball teams including the New York Yankees. CLICK HERE to see all 30 predictions and see below for the Yankees predictions. Enjoy.



Yankees (9)

Sergio Santos (5.110) – $900K
Andrew Bailey (5.034) – $900K arbitration projection; has $2MM club option.
Ivan Nova (5.024) – $4.4MM
Michael Pineda (4.099) – $4.6MM
Dustin Ackley (4.087) – $3.1MM
Nate Eovaldi (4.013) – $5.7MM
Adam Warren (3.036) – $1.5MM
Justin Wilson (3.035) – $1.3MM
Didi Gregorius (2.159) – $2.1MM

Are the Yankees Worth the Money?

We did this post last season when the Yankees were struggling to make the postseason for the second straight season and I wanted to take another look at the team again this season to see if the team was worth the money. As we know the Yankees have one of the highest payrolls in all of Major League Baseball but is Hal Steinbrenner and the fans getting their money's worth? With the greatness that is sabermetrics and with a little help from Fangraphs.com we can decide just that.

MLB Average Salary Tops $4 Million

For the first time in Major League Baseball history the average salary for a MLB player has topped the $4 million mark. The mark is a new record for the league thanks in large part to teams like the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has the largest average annual value per season with $31 million while his Los Angeles team has the highest payroll in baseball at $270 million. Major League Baseball has had the largest two year growth in more than a decade due in large part to the re-emergence of the Dodgers, the Miami Marlins spending money again and the Yankees being the Yankees and the entire league is benefiting from it.

The average salary for this season heading into the season looks to be $4.25 million according to the Associated Press which is up from $3.95 million in 2014 and $3.65 million in 2013. The last year before free agency was introduced into the game, 1976, the average player was making $50,000 so you can see the steep increase we have seen across the years even with the strike that ended the World Series in 1994. 

I've Got Til 5! - Spending Woes

Not too long ago I was way into contracts. I would constantly write about players' contacts and the Luxury Tax. I don't know if it got too depressing, or if I was just bored of the whole subject, but I eventually stopped caring so much about money and just looked at what the Yankees should do in order to win.

Although it seemed silly to sign a soon-to-be 37 year-old to a three year contact, as long as the Yankees had a better chance of winning, I didn't care... do it. If the team had to eat a lot of money later then so be it.

That doesn't mean I wanted spending to get ridiculous, but when you think about the fact that the Yankees are worth over $2 billion, a few extra million in order to contend for just one season sounded like a pretty good trade-off to me.

But I couldn't help thinking about the money some players are making this season, compared to their contributions to the team. On top of that, the Yankees seem to get more out of those that are making less. So I decided to take a look, and the results are kind of sad...

The kiss between Wall-E and Eve was more of a happy-sad thing. I'm thinking more sad-sad. But in each case tears come to my eyes.

1. Brett Gardner has an OPS+ of 119, which is 2nd to Mark Teixeira's 124. At the same time, Brett will make $5.6 million, which is only the 11th most on the team.

2. CC Sabathia will make $23 million this season, which means he's made approximately $11.5 million so far. However, CC has only been worth $1.1 million in 2014. Talk about taking a loss.

3. While David Robertson, Matt Thornton, and Shawn Kelley will make a combined $10.39 million in 2014, the reliever with the highest WAR on the Yankees... Dellin Betances... will only make $504,100.

"'Only?' Really? At my current job, it would take me approximately 20 years to make that much."

4. Carlos Beltran is batting .222, which is the lowest among Yankee regulars. That .222 average includes 49 hits. Seeing as how he's made about $7.5 million this season, that works out to $153,061.22 per hit.

5. Alfonso Soriano has an OPS+ of 71, which is the lowest among Yankees players with at least 30 plate appearances. At the same time, Alfonso will make $19 million this season.

Not too long ago haters used to complain that the Yankees just bought championships. Those five things above, along with some other stuff (*cough*ARod*cough*), has pretty much killed off that idea.

Before I go, I'll leave you guys with a little bonus...

Even though Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season, he will still make $3,155,738. Which is more than Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, Brendan Ryan, Shawn Kelley, and 23 more players that are or were on the Yankees' 40-man roster.

A Bad Reason To Hate Alex Rodriguez

I started to write my next article for my I've Got Til 5! column, in which I'd debunk five of the reasons people hate Alex Rodriguez, but the first reason got me going so much I decided to make it it's own post. For that reason I skipped this week's edition of I've Got Til 5! so I could work on it.

"Okay, I skipped it because I'm lazy."

It's not hard to dislike somebody that makes more money than you. With very few exceptions, we all believe we work harder than the person next to us. And even if you don't actually dislike that person, there's a good chance you resent him at least a little bit.

With that in mind, I'd like to point out that not including signing bonuses, incentive bonuses, interest, marketing agreements, and other perks, Alex Rodriguez has made nearly half a billion dollars playing baseball.

First of all, it's absolutely ridiculous to feel anything close to hatred for a person because they make more money than you... no matter how much more it is. Show me a person that says they don't want to make as much money as possible, and I'll show you a person that I wouldn't trust to pick the worms I use to go fishing.

Except to kill time between beers, I haven't gone fishing in... like... ever.

According to the Dollar Values given out by Fangraphs, Rodriguez has been worth nearly $250 million. Before you go down and start writing out a comment, telling me I can't do math since that's only half of what he's made, allow me to point out that that $250 million doesn't include 1994 through 2001. If we ignore his '94 and '95 seasons, in which he only had 196 at bats, his average WAR in those other six years was 7.23. That 7.23 WAR is worth approximately $21 million a season. So add another $126 million to his value.

I can hear you screaming, "THAT STILL DOESN'T EQUAL $500 MILLION!!!" And you're right, you mathematical guru. But what about all the money he's generated for the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners, and Major League Baseball in general, through ticket and merchandise sales?

Alex Rodriguez home Yankees jerseys are sold for anywhere from $150 to $200, and with all the Yankees fans in the World, I'm willing to bet there have been millions of them sold. And again... that's just the home jerseys. Do a search for "Alex Rodriguez" at the MLB.com shop and you'll find 70 items, which go for as little as $13 to as much as $1000.

There's a good chance that Alex has not generated a few million dollars for MLB and the teams he's played for. No. Chances are he's generated billions of dollars for them.

Imagine each star in that picture is a hundred dollar bill.

And then there's the charity work that ARod does and has done, which includes working with organizations like Keep A Child Alive, Raising Malawi, Soles4Souls, and UNICEF. Heck, he gave the University of Miami $3.9 million to build a ballpark.

On that note, it amazes me how much charity work by certain celebrities gets ignored. I'm a pro wrestling fan (as many of you know), and although I'm not a fan of his character, John Cena has granted over 400 wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation. Un-FREAKING-believable.

I'm not saying that you or anybody else doesn't have a good reason to dislike Rodriguez, but the amount of money he makes or has made should not be one of them.

This, on the other hand...