Brewers Payroll 2020 and beyond

[Lathund]

I like the decisions Brewers made with their tender offers (or non-offers). Good for the team to have signed Arcia, Piña and Narvaez cheaply. As I said in the Piña thread I was surprised to see both catchers retained and not sure what the plan was (thinking there has to be a trade), but at the same time having good players on good contracts is always a good thing.

[Vollbc74]

Here is how I have payroll currently:

 

[attachment=0]Brewers Salary Cap Table - Google Sheets 12-3-2020 8-23-49 AM.png[/attachment]

[Brewers Numbers]

I include dead money because they are paying it in this league year even though it's really a bonus for prior performance. It's one of the ways the Brewers split salary across multiple years for players. I don't know how much it affects their decision making for this year though as it is a sunk cost, maybe more this year than others. I think fans just forget sometimes that $73M in payroll is really ~$80M paid.

 

I also don't include deferred money payouts because per the CBA that money was deposited into an account specifically for paying the deferment during the seasons the player played. The Brewers could take in $0 this year and still pay Garza the full $2M without loans, etc. The deferred money funding I have in my numbers are if the Brewers were really dumb and waited until the last possible second to fund the Braun and Cain deferred money. My guess though is those are also already funded and so is Yelich's deferred money.

[monty57]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

If MLBtraderumors is accurate with their projections, that could get us La Stella (2 years/$14M) and Charlie Morton (1 year/$8M).

 

As Brewers Numbers has said, we have some "dead money" to account for, so I'd be happy with us being able to land La Stella to shore up our biggest hole.

 

Once again, this makes me think that the Brewers are going to have to make a decision on Hader soon. Trade him and you have some additional players and more money to spend. Don't trade him, and your bullpen is set but you don't have much to spend elsewhere.

[Brewers Numbers]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

If MLBtraderumors is accurate with their projections, that could get us La Stella (2 years/$14M) and Charlie Morton (1 year/$8M).

 

As Brewers Numbers has said, we have some "dead money" to account for, so I'd be happy with us being able to land La Stella to shore up our biggest hole.

 

Once again, this makes me think that the Brewers are going to have to make a decision on Hader soon. Trade him and you have some additional players and more money to spend. Don't trade him, and your bullpen is set but you don't have much to spend elsewhere.

Charlie Morton got $15M from the Braves.

[wibadgers23]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

If MLBtraderumors is accurate with their projections, that could get us La Stella (2 years/$14M) and Charlie Morton (1 year/$8M).

 

As Brewers Numbers has said, we have some "dead money" to account for, so I'd be happy with us being able to land La Stella to shore up our biggest hole.

 

Once again, this makes me think that the Brewers are going to have to make a decision on Hader soon. Trade him and you have some additional players and more money to spend. Don't trade him, and your bullpen is set but you don't have much to spend elsewhere.

 

That’s a really good way to look at a Hader trade. If we trade him, there’s a good chance you have a better, more well-rounded team as opposed to a pretty good bullpen and not much else.

[monty57]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

If MLBtraderumors is accurate with their projections, that could get us La Stella (2 years/$14M) and Charlie Morton (1 year/$8M).

 

As Brewers Numbers has said, we have some "dead money" to account for, so I'd be happy with us being able to land La Stella to shore up our biggest hole.

 

Once again, this makes me think that the Brewers are going to have to make a decision on Hader soon. Trade him and you have some additional players and more money to spend. Don't trade him, and your bullpen is set but you don't have much to spend elsewhere.

Charlie Morton got $15M from the Braves.

 

Oops. Swap that out with Carlos Santana for 1 year/$6M if we get the DH :-)

[PeaveyFury]

Swap that out with Carlos Santana for 1 year/$6M if we get the DH :-)

 

I'm a big, big fan of signing Santana to a modest deal.

[TURBO]

Swap that out with Carlos Santana for 1 year/$6M if we get the DH :-)

 

I'm a big, big fan of signing Santana to a modest deal.

 

Ditto...

 

A one year fix at a position we desperately need, and at a great price! (hopefully)

 

I'm afraid his market price may end up being a lot higher than projected.

 

I could see him getting a 9 or 10 million one year deal, which of course takes us out of the running.

[3and2Fastball]

As a Brewer fan am I supposed to root for Mark to not lose money? “Go Mark Go!” Bottom line, baby!

 

I’m asking that sincerely, by the way.

[Outlander]

As a Brewers fan I root for Mark to have a profitable team while spending $200 million on payroll. I hope they don't lose money because that usually leads to a lower payroll.

[pacopete4]

I see Korea stole our cleanup hitter. That should free up some payroll.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/ryon-healy-signs-with-kbos-hanwha-eagles.html

[RollieTime]

I see Korea stole our cleanup hitter. That should free up some payroll.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/ryon-healy-signs-with-kbos-hanwha-eagles.html

 

One of the most mind numbing managerial moves I’ve seen. The man can’t make the roster all season, but is your cleanup hitter in a win or go home game in the postseason.

 

In all seriousness, I’m not sure how we are going to replace our cleanup hitter moving forward. It’s a shame he got away from us. We can’t let players like this reach free agency.

 

The Wall of Honor ceremony will be bittersweet for sure, but man it would of been nice to have him finish out his career in Milwaukee. It’s just so dang hard to replace a cleanup hitter, especially one in his prime.

 

Fire Stearns! Cheap Mark A strikes again! Pour it on them baby!

[TURBO]

 

One of the most mind numbing managerial moves I’ve seen. The man can’t make the roster all season, but is your cleanup hitter in a win or go home game in the postseason.

 

 

Completely asinine and ilogical...

 

Ranks right up there with starting Kotsay in CF in the same situation.

[owbc]

Kotsay was 1000x worse because we could have won that series. Counsell may as well have written himself into the lineup in LA.

[adambr2]

I'll put our lineup issues this past season more on Stearns than Counsell. The options for our playoff series were horrific. The struggles of expected lineup studs like Yelich and Hiura were nobody's fault but their own, but the supporting cast wasn't good.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'll put our lineup issues this past season more on Stearns than Counsell. The options for our playoff series were horrific. The struggles of expected lineup studs like Yelich and Hiura were nobody's fault but their own, but the supporting cast wasn't good.

 

Agreed. The positive thing is, by all accounts, Stearns has said in interviews several times this fall that he failed to put a competitive offense on the field last summer, and that he is to blame for that. This is a big offseason for him. I admit I was excited by the prospect of the big roster turnover at this time last year, but the results were, for the most part, underwhelming. He's got the same opportunity this year, and while my expectations personally are a bit more tempered, I still have quite a bit of excitement thinking about the different directions he could theoretically go to fill the roster this winter. Last year he grabbed a bunch of older, but established veteran guys looking to rebound. I think he goes in a different direction this year, perhaps skewing younger and with more potential upside in his acquisitions.

[Axman59]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

My thoughts? I need to follow a different team because the Brewers are not interested in being a serious World Series contender.

 

I'm sick and damn tired of this. And don't give me, "the team has made the playoffs three years in a row." 2020 was a joke of a year and the Brewers were in the playoffs due to a cash grab expanded playoffs. And now the team is moving backwards.

 

How long have you been a Brewer fan? Welcome to cheering for a small market club. Ebbs and flows is basically how it works.

 

 

Since 1978. When I was 8 years old. Losing a World Series in 1982 is the height of my fandom. Cut me some slack. Please.

[Axman59]

So with the Brewers moves tonight it looks like they saved around $11 million. That would take the payroll to around $71 million per Cots. If reports of a mid $80 million payroll the Brewers might spend around $15 million. Thoughts?

 

My thoughts? I need to follow a different team because the Brewers are not interested in being a serious World Series contender.

 

I'm sick and damn tired of this. And don't give me, "the team has made the playoffs three years in a row." 2020 was a joke of a year and the Brewers were in the playoffs due to a cash grab expanded playoffs. And now the team is moving backwards.

Was there someone specific out of Knebel, Claudio, Gamel, or Peterson that you’re upset they parted ways with? If not, it seems a little premature to be outraged over the payroll until we see who they add to the roster over the remainder of the offseason.

 

None of the players they non-tendered yesterday are likely going to make the difference on determining whether they can compete for a World Series.

 

Knebel for starters. But it's not just that. It's that we know how this movie is going to end. Keep the payroll low. We lost a lot of money in 2020. We don't know how many fans we'll have in 2021.

 

Mark A. lives on a compound in California estimated at $50 million. Time to spend some of that money on the Brewers (assuming Brewers cash flow is low at the time due to COVID) or sell the team to someone who will. Do you think Mets fans are looking at 2020 financials right now?

[MrTPlush]

Here we go...the yearly, "Mark Attanasio is a rich billionaire and should use his large wealth to increase payroll, lose money, and barely move the needle on our World Series odds."

 

We all want that, but can we please acknowledge almost no team operates that way? It has not and will never happen here. No rich billionaire is going to buy MLBs smallest market, in a place like Milwaukee, WI, and proceed to lose gobs of money.

 

Mark Attanasio is the best owner this franchise has ever had and will likely be way better than any potential owner in your lifetime. If Attanasio sold this team I feel like you would be at his $50mil doorstep begging him to buy the team back.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Here we go...the yearly, "Mark Attanasio is a rich billionaire and should use his large wealth to increase payroll, lose money, and barely move the needle on our World Series odds."

 

We all want that, but can we please acknowledge almost no team operates that way? It has not and will never happen here. No rich billionaire is going to buy MLBs smallest market, in a place like Milwaukee, WI, and proceed to lose gobs of money.

 

Mark Attanasio is the best owner this franchise has ever had and will likely be way better than any potential owner in your lifetime. If Attanasio sold this team I feel like you would be at his $50mil doorstep begging him to buy the team back.

 

Thank you for this evergreen post. I am so sick of the "Mark has lots of money, so he should push payroll to $200 million" idea. The people who own baseball teams are not wealthy by accident. They are all very intelligent business people who didn't get that way by making poor investments or continuing to dump money into a non-profitable property. Yes, owning a baseball team is an expensive hobby, but it's also a business. I fully expect that the Brewers will find a way to put a strong, competitive team on the field in 2021, but it isn't going to include the likes of Trevor Bauer and George Springer.

 

Comparing the Brewers financial situation to that of the Mets is probably one of the biggest apples to oranges-type comparison one could make.

[Roderick]

Here we go...the yearly, "Mark Attanasio is a rich billionaire and should use his large wealth to increase payroll, lose money, and barely move the needle on our World Series odds."

 

We all want that, but can we please acknowledge almost no team operates that way? It has not and will never happen here. No rich billionaire is going to buy MLBs smallest market, in a place like Milwaukee, WI, and proceed to lose gobs of money.

 

Mark Attanasio is the best owner this franchise has ever had and will likely be way better than any potential owner in your lifetime. If Attanasio sold this team I feel like you would be at his $50mil doorstep begging him to buy the team back.

 

We need a like button

[SomewhereInTime]

Here we go...the yearly, "Mark Attanasio is a rich billionaire and should use his large wealth to increase payroll, lose money, and barely move the needle on our World Series odds."

 

We all want that, but can we please acknowledge almost no team operates that way? It has not and will never happen here. No rich billionaire is going to buy MLBs smallest market, in a place like Milwaukee, WI, and proceed to lose gobs of money.

 

Mark Attanasio is the best owner this franchise has ever had and will likely be way better than any potential owner in your lifetime. If Attanasio sold this team I feel like you would be at his $50mil doorstep begging him to buy the team back.

 

Outstanding post. I recommend making this a new thread and sticking it at the top of the forum.

[brooks_quichenick]

In this world nothing can be said to be certain except for death, taxes, and Brewers fans vigorously defending the bank account of a venture capitalist billionaire for some reason.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

In this world nothing can be said to be certain except for death, taxes, and Brewers fans vigorously defending the bank account of a venture capitalist billionaire for some reason.

 

It's not so much defending Attanasio's bank account so much as looking at the situation with a dose of reality. If you believe that Attanasio is going to agree to lose tens of millions to increase the payroll to a level the finances cannot sustain, you are setting yourself up to be mad just to be mad. What's the point? You play the hand you're dealt.