2036.1 Freed from financial constraints, Boise will build from the bottom up
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:44 pm
BOISE, ID--
Just about nothing that has happened in Boise over the past couple days has made any sense.
Felipe Murillo and his player option? He's gone. Manager Mark King, who was with the team for but a few short months? Retired.
How about reliever Donald Foster? He retired too. Starter Luis Espinoza and his $15 million salary would not be asked back for next season.
Tavio Ciccolella. Mike Barnett. Leon Flores and his torn UCL. AAA starters Mark McCray and Sixto Carrillo. Every last one of them had cleaned out their lockers by the end of Tuesday and disappeared into the Idaho landscape.
That's not to mention the staggering amount of organizational turnover that will occur this offseason, with only 6 staffers under contract for next season and a whopping 16 open slots, from rookie league hitting coach to Boise's manager position.
What does that mean for the upcoming season?
Boise will have a paltry $25 million in committed money for 2036, a figure that is almost half that of the next lowest team payroll in the Hawaii Tropics, and over $100 million less than the big-bucks Jacksonville Hurricanes pay their players. As such, the Spuds have about $60 million to lure potential free agents and coaches, and the largest contract currently on the books will be Cris Rios's arbitration salary, which is estimated to be around $3.2 million. That gives the organization an exciting amount of flexibility to enact their plans.
"We haven't fucked up yet," general manager Ryan Wangman said. "So we're going to continue to play cautious as we get adjusted to this league and how it all works."
Just about nothing that has happened in Boise over the past couple days has made any sense.
Felipe Murillo and his player option? He's gone. Manager Mark King, who was with the team for but a few short months? Retired.
How about reliever Donald Foster? He retired too. Starter Luis Espinoza and his $15 million salary would not be asked back for next season.
Tavio Ciccolella. Mike Barnett. Leon Flores and his torn UCL. AAA starters Mark McCray and Sixto Carrillo. Every last one of them had cleaned out their lockers by the end of Tuesday and disappeared into the Idaho landscape.
That's not to mention the staggering amount of organizational turnover that will occur this offseason, with only 6 staffers under contract for next season and a whopping 16 open slots, from rookie league hitting coach to Boise's manager position.
What does that mean for the upcoming season?
Boise will have a paltry $25 million in committed money for 2036, a figure that is almost half that of the next lowest team payroll in the Hawaii Tropics, and over $100 million less than the big-bucks Jacksonville Hurricanes pay their players. As such, the Spuds have about $60 million to lure potential free agents and coaches, and the largest contract currently on the books will be Cris Rios's arbitration salary, which is estimated to be around $3.2 million. That gives the organization an exciting amount of flexibility to enact their plans.
"We haven't fucked up yet," general manager Ryan Wangman said. "So we're going to continue to play cautious as we get adjusted to this league and how it all works."