The Brewster

The season has started now, and the fever-pitch furor over the Nine's ability to sign Rule 6 sensation Alfredo Salazar has calmed down, we wanted to see what the club managed to do with the cash that Salazar would have drawn. Rumors are that Nine GM RonCo had an offer on the table that was in the $220M range, with some $50-$55M built into the first year. We all know now that the Wilson/Fiscus combination dropped $68M and $249M across the six seasons, and the Savage went the other way.

Fans, shall we say, were peeved.

And, yet ...

If we take a moment to see what the Nine did with the free cash, one wonders if the team managed to dodge a bullet. Intead of:

Alfredo Salazar - $68M

The Nine spent $37M and got:

Sven Trauner - $9.7M
Pete McClure - $15M
Bill McIntyre - $8M
Ryan Craigie - $2.5M
Tino Aguilera - $950K
Mauro Zuniga - $750K

Thinking about it, it's hard to suggest that the addition of Savage (while clearly huge) was the best thing for the team. Yellow Springs is, after all, a team with lots of young value. All six of these players can come in and add value in the right places, and the team is in a position to use them in the right places.

Trauner, a league average starter (which is, of course, highly valuable), could be devastating as a guy who throws two inning an outing. McClure is still a league+ catcher, though he's clearly getting old. The team needed someone like him, though. And McIntyre gives the team a guy who can hit left-handed pitching and run. Perhaps Ritchie is the most interesting signing, essentially a $2.5M overpay for an injured bullpen guy, but the idea of a adding a quality reliever to the bullpen in June is potentially quite valuable. Then we come to SS Aguilera, who will be the left-handed bat of a platoon system, and be a defensive replacement as Sixto Berroa gets his chance. And Mauro Zuniga, a big right-hander who is, admittedly, a bit of a strange signing.

So, yeah. Let's say Salazar drops 5 more WAR than Ruiz in CF, there is still every chance that the bumps the Nine will get from these six will be more than 5 WAR over what the Nine would have fielded in those slots. For $31M less.

But the deal Salazar signed rolls into the following years, too. So lets look at 2026.

Alfredo Salazar - $60M

The Nine spends $12M-$13M and got:

Sven Trauner - $4.5M
Pete McClure - $5M
Bill McIntyre - $2.5M
Ryan Craigie - Resigned?
Tino Aguilera - Option for $950K
Mauro Zuniga - Resigned?

At question is what the Nine will do with the extra cash that rolls off, of course, but the cost of Trauner, McClure, and McIntyre drops to $12M between them, and if the Aguilera platoon concept results in 2 WAR, his $950K is well-spent.

In 2027:

Alfredo Salazar - $38M

The Nine Spends - $8M

Sven Trauner - $2.7M
Pete McClure - $3M
Bill McIntyre - $2.4M

One expects, by this time, that McClure will be faded and provide less than that $3M of value, but if Trauner and McIntyre continue to add value, their $5M price tag makes a big impact. Again, depending on the stuff the Nine adds with the extra $30M cash that they would have sunk in Salazar.

Then we get to 2028 ... and, who knows, right? We're talking three years of drafting, three years of Rule 6, three years of FA acquisitions and International Free Agents.

Who knows, eh? Maybe by then the club will really, really, really miss having Alfredo Salazar on the roster. But there is just as good a chance that YS9 fans have actually dodged a bullet.

This is exactly why I can't understand handing out a contact that large.

I agree with everything Ron has down here. The money is definitely better spent being spread around. But with that said, I don't think Madison is competing in 2025 or 2026 even with the money spread around. So my thinking was go after the big fish while I have the money. I have no major contracts on the books (other than the Rule 6 guys) anywhere in the future.

I have some younger guys who will be ready by 2027 who can fill roles for very cheap around the time Salazar's contract begins to dip some. By that point, I'll be able to do what YS did and find some inexpensive free agents to fill spots around my younger guys and Salazar. Trust me, there's a plan to this madness.... No team looking to win NOW would ever be successful doing what I did with Salazar.

thats a pretty crazy contract...how come noone brought this up before?

Don't worry, they did

I think Chris's plan is sound.
That said, I never would have spent that much. It would keep me up at night.

Hhmm, I am so sick of this keyboard that I just ordered this one.
I need backlit keys.