Brewers’ payroll may rise higher
Much has been made of the money teams aren’t spending during this unusual off-season of inactivity, but the Milwaukee Brewers are on track to increase their payroll by more than 50% from last season. And it could go higher.
Of course, it’s not difficult to bump payroll higher when you were operating with the lowest in the majors in 2017 – just shy of $60 million to start the season. That left the Brewers with financial flexibility heading into this year and they’ve taken advantage of that position to boost their talent level.
The Brewers’ 2018 payroll jumped some $20 million with the blockbuster additions of outfielders Lorenzo Cain ($13 million salary this year) and Christian Yelich ($7 million). Cain signed a five-year, $80 million deal, and what made trading for Miami’s Yelich so attractive is that he's controlled for five seasons at a total of $58.25 million, including a $15 million club option for 2022.
Ryan Braun continues to have the highest salary on the roster but $4 million of his $19 million for 2018 is being deferred to future years. Braun still has three years and $57 million remaining on his contract.
At present, the Brewers have signed 21 players on their 40-man roster. The last five to sign are minimumsalary types, if they make the bigleague club in spring training. The Brewers had a whopping 17 players on their opening day roster last season making at or just above the minimum salary of $535,000 (it goes up to $545,000 this year).
Excluding $5 million in deferred salaries to Braun and Cain, and $2.5 million combined in signing bonuses to pitchers Jhoulys Chacin and Chase Anderson, the Brewers’ actual payroll is between $75 million and $80 million at present. It appears headed toward about $90 million, assuming no additional spending of note on the free-agent market.
That number would still be near the bottom in major league baseball. In 2017, the average payroll was $135 million and the median was $140 million. The Dodgers led all teams with a payroll of $242 million, more than four times that of the Brewers' last season.
Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio has shown in the past he will push the payroll beyond $100 million if he thinks his team is a serious postseason contender. In 2012, after the club won the NL Central title the previous season, the Brewers opened the year with a $101.2 million payroll, and pushed it higher later.
“The way Mark operates is that when there’s justification for an investment, he’s open to it,” general manager David Stearns said. “That’s the way we always operate. He’s always been supportive when we come to him with a warranted investment.”
After a surprising 86-win season in ’17, Attanasio gave the green light for the Brewers to pursue Yelich and Cain, knowing what the cost would be. At the team’s “On Deck” fan festival in late January, Attanasio said there still was room in the budget to add one of the big-ticket free agent pitchers.
The Brewers reportedly made an offer a few weeks back to right-hander Yu Darvish, who at the outset of the off-season was seeking a six- or seven-year deal for about $25 million per season. It is unlikely they made a proposal at that level, and Darvish remains on the market, along with other top pitchers such as Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn.
Stearns has pursued trade possibilities for a starter also, which would not push the payroll as high and possibly ease the current logjam of outfielders. Over the weekend, however, he indicated no move was imminent.
Stearns and Attanasio prefer to keep some financial flexibility for inseason moves if they are needed to push the club over the top in the playoff race. But, in a market with few teams spending money to speak of, the Brewers continue to keep an open mind and look for what Stearns called “the right opportunity.”
The Brewers stripped down their roster in 2015-’16 to begin a large-scale rebuilding process, and the payroll plummeted accordingly. But, with the team ahead of schedule in returning to playoff competition – the Brewers fell just one victory shy last season – it became time to invest in the talent necessary to continue moving forward.