Tuber Times 2062.43: Financial Pivot Points

[cheekimonk]

Tuber Times
11 Sep 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Les McBurney

As a disappointing 2062 nears a close, Boise GM Ben Teague is eyeing some key payroll decisions that will shape the organization's goals and needs this offseason. Here are things as they stand both at the end of this season and into 2063:

League Salary Cap: $110m
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2062 Payroll: $91.3m
2062 Cap Space: $18.7m

That payroll includes these key impact players from the current season:
36yo SP Mahad 'Furball' Einan - $12.6m
33yo SP Doug Eckhoff - $9.3m
36yo 2B Ryan Geauxinue - $7.0m
31yo 1B/DH Pedro Hozven - $5.7m
[url=https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 59455.html]36yo RF Martin Hemming - $5.6m
33yo RP Abban Layar - $5.6m
35yo RP Brian Groves - $3.6m
28yo 1B Tracy Allison - $2.6m
36yo SP Muneer bin Khairy - $2.2m
26yo CL Mario Santos - $1.3m
36yo P Juan Guzmán - $900k
27yo P Buddhapalita Kankipati - $690k
21yo DH Perry Taylor - $500k
24yo 3B Bill Kuhn - $500k

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Leaders by WAR this season:
1B Allison +3.4
3B Kuhn +3.1
26yo LF Cosmo Pan ($500k) +2.8
24yo C Tadanobu Otani ($500k) +2.7
26yo LF Tsutomu Yamauchi ($1.6m) +2.5
P Einan +2.4
P bin Khairy +1.7
1B/DH Hozven +1.5
P 28yo P Robert Carlson ($790k) +1.2
P Kankipati +1.1
DH Taylor +1.1 (60 games)

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So it's clear by a wide margin that the strength of this team lies in its offensive core. It is young, cheap, and under control:

Allison has seized the starting job at 1B without a platoon necessary. He will return with an arbitration estimated $4.0m
Kuhn is similarly entrenched at 3B and is entering his first year of arbitration with an estimated $2.7m
Pan is the starting LF and is fully capable of playing RF. He is entering his first year of arbitration with an estimated $2.2m
Otani has been a pleasant surprise on offense even though he was given the starting nod for his defense. He is on the league minimum $500k
Yaumachi is the starting RF and can swap with Pan as needed. He is entering his 2nd year of arbitration with an estimated $3.3m
Taylor has done an excellent job taking over DH duties from the older, and more expensive, Hozven and is on league minimum $500k
26yo CF Bob Hills is a solid defensive player in CF and enters arbitration estimated $3.0m
There really is no way the team can stick with 25yo 2B Fernando Segura ($500k) so it is necessary to keep Geauxinue but his salary drops from $7.0m this season to $3.0m

As such:
Hozven has been displaced and, thought he is only 31 and posts excellent numbers, he has a team option that is unlikely to be exercised $5.7m
It is a similar story with Hemming except that his contract is expiring at $5.6m
Montoya has become a backup corner OF and the team is unlikely to exercise his option estimated $3.6m

Things aren't as clear or rosy on the pitching side of the ledger:

Einan is still a solid #1/#2 starter, but he has a player option that the team is hoping he exercises $12.0m
Eckhoff has progressively shed any utility or value so his team option will almost certainly be voided $9.3m
bin Khairy, though he has his missteps from time to time, is a solid #3 option and will return with arbitration estimated $3.0m
Carlson has been solid in the bullpen and will return with an arbitration estimated $1.4m
Kankipati is a flexible option that can be potentially dominating in relief and more than solid as a starter and he will return at $1.3m
Santos is entrenched as the starting closer and will return with arbitration estimated $2.4m
Groves is inked as the main setup arm and backup closer, but he has decided to test free agency and so will not return in 2063
Sproul is a solid reliever but, at 36yo, will not be extended
It's an understatement to say Ine has been disappointing but he returns in 2063 at $1.4m
Guzmán is similar to Kankipati except that he can reach at least 90 pitches per start and he seems to favor the rotation. He returns at $1.3m
Gautier has had solid numbers as a left-handed setup man, but at 35yo the team may look for other options on the trade or FA market $955k
Baz Badr has a team option that, at this point, looks very likely to be voided $2.0m

Pitching is a problem and it will be interesting to see Teague's approach this offseason.

Taking all of the above into account the anticipated payroll for 2063 looks like this:
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2063 Payroll: $63.8m
2063 Cap Space: $46.2m

So, yes, pitching is a hot mess. But having a solid offense and roughly 40% of the salary cap to work with is not a terrible position.