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Williams: The Pirates Had a Chance to Show Commitment, Instead Open 2019 With a $77 M Payroll

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Back around the start of the offseason, I received word that the Pirates were targeting a payroll around $75 M. The sourcing wasn’t enough for me to report, but the figure was out there, I assume from the same sources. The figure seemed low to me, since the Pirates opened at $83.7 M last year, and finished closer to $90 M.

Several months later, the Pirates have set their Opening Day roster, and that roster comes with a $77.4 M payroll. Regardless on whether you think the “target goal” of the $75 M range is correct or just coincidence, the end result is that a payroll in that range is not what a team trying to contend should be spending.

Before going on, here are the usual disclaimers to my payroll calculations:

**The payroll doesn’t account for in-season moves. The Pirates typically add about $7-8 M in-season. The increase during the season comes from calling up new guys throughout the year, claiming players off waivers, or adding players via trade.

**The Opening Day payroll doesn’t include projected bonuses. I add those throughout the year when they’re reached.

**I don’t have JB Shuck’s salary, and currently have him as a league minimum guy.

**I use the 40-man payroll, rather than the 25-man. MLB teams use 40-man numbers, and when you see the official numbers come out at the end of the year, they’re always 40-man numbers. You might think that the minor league salaries drive up the payroll (or at least that’s the common argument). The total of all the minor league guys on the 40-man is $581,750 (due to all of the IL guys at the start of the year). As the season goes on, a lot of those minor leaguers will be called up, at which point they’ll be making major league salaries. I always pro-rate the major league salaries when players don’t play a full season.

**The payroll page is updated whenever a move is made. It also keeps track of option years, service time and contract situations. Keep the page bookmarked throughout the year, or find it under the “Resources” tab at the top of the page. If you want to see long-term contract information, check out the Future Payroll page.

A Payroll Suited For a Rebuild

In normal years, you’d expect a $77 M payroll to be the payroll of a rebuilding team. You wouldn’t expect that from a team that won 82 games last year, added Chris Archer and Keone Kela for future years (including 2019, which is one of two full seasons they have Kela, and one of three for Archer), and have a clear window of contention.

It’s not just the Pirates though. This is an issue all around baseball. The Rays won 90 games last year, and are the only team with a payroll lower than the Pirates. The Athletics made the playoffs, and have a payroll of $91 M on Opening Day. Five other teams are below the $100 M mark, although they are coming off 96+ loss seasons, so you’d expect a rebuilding-level payroll.

Just because other contending teams are spending low amounts doesn’t mean it’s justified for the Pirates. It’s to help illustrate that this is a league issue, extending beyond Pittsburgh. But the Pirates are in a unique situation here, with a fan base that is rapidly abandoning the team.

James Santelli broke down that unique situation today, focusing on the lower attendance, and how the Pirates have some big contracts coming up (new TV deal in 2019, new stadium naming rights in 2020) which could lead to more money with a stronger fan showing in 2019.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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