Adam Rubin of ESPN tried to answer a question that Mets fans have been wondering since halfway through the 2014 season this afternoon. What will the 2015 payroll be?
There are only four players with guaranteed contracts. They are David Wright ($20 million), Curtis Granderson ($16 million), Bartolo Colon ($11 million) and Jonathon Niese ($7 million). That’s it. So the other 21 spots on the roster will be filled with players that are either arbitration eligible or not currently under contract.
Rubin estimated the arbitration numbers for the eight players that are eligible. Daniel Murphy led the way with a raise to Daniel Murphy $8.5 million from $5.7. Lucas Duda also gets a big raise to $5 million from $1.6375. The estimated arbitration payroll comes to $28.55 million for those eight players.
Adding the arbitration players to the guys already under contract, brings you to a payroll of $82.55 million for 12 players.
“There are 13 other players required to fill out a 25-man roster. Let’s say they all make close to the major league minimum in 2015, which will be adjusted upward modestly from this year’s $500,000 figure based on a cost of living calculation. That’s a total of at least $6.5 million.”
Rubin added that Mets officials previously have said they always add another $4.5 million or so to account for things such as more than 25 players on the payroll at any given time because of DL, etc.
So when you add that $11 million to the $82.55 million it puts the estimated Mets payroll at $93.55 million before they sign or add any new players.
Of course, you can’t ignore statements by Sandy Alderson who has said a few times not to expect a spike in payroll. I guess we’ll all know more as the offseason progresses.
