It is always interesting to check out the MLB’s team payrolls at the beginning of the season to get a landscape of who is working with what.  By no means is it a perfect predictor of what will shake out at the end of the year, but traditionally money does buy wins (ignore this, Billy B).  A few surprises right off the bat:

– How are the Angels not on the top of the list with their lineup? Well done by front office management with nifty contract work.

– The Cubs are slowly but surely trimming the fat with Theo in charge, look for them to start spending next year.

– The Yankees could be in for a little house cleaning if they can’t stay healthy.

– The Dodgers have a “little” bit of pressure on them this year

Payrolls for the 30 major league teams, based on rosters as of 3 p.m. EDT on March 28. Figures were obtained by The Associated Press from management and player sources and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses for players on the 25-man active roster, disabled lists and restricted list. In some cases, parts of salaries deferred without interest are discounted to reflect present-day values. Adjustments includes cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are responsibility of club that agreed to contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.

Team Act. Payroll Adjustments Tot. Payroll

N.Y. Yankees $232,058,561 -$3,062,616 $228,995,945

Los Angeles Dodgers 221,867,195 -5,564,286 216,302,909

Philadelphia 170,353,189 -10,774,975 159,578,214

Boston 152,028,000 6,939,286 158,967,286

Detroit 146,989,500 2,057,344 149,046,844

San Francisco 140,180,333 2,000,000 142,180,333

Los Angeles Angels 128,165,250 14,000,000 142,165,250

Texas 114,322,600 12,874,975 127,197,575

Chicago White Sox 120,065,277 4,000,000 124,065,277

Toronto 118,527,800 -283,761 118,244,039

St. Louis 116,202,085 500,000 116,702,085

Washington 114,194,270 -1,762,500 112,431,770

Cincinnati 111,254,462 -688,734 110,565,728

Chicago Cubs 103,550,726 600,000 104,150,726

Baltimore 90,293,333 1,500,000 91,793,333

Milwaukee 88,753,366 2,250,000 91,003,366

Arizona 90,650,500 -492,000 90,158,500

Atlanta 89,496,526 -208,333 89,288,193

New York Mets 71,943,054 16,933,979 88,877,033

Seattle 74,705,043 9,590,909 84,295,952

Cleveland 76,267,300 6,250,000 82,517,300

Kansas City 80,741,725 -250,000 80,491,725

Minnesota 75,312,500 250,000 75,562,500

Colorado 74,899,071 550,000 75,449,071

San Diego 68,189,900 3,500,000 71,689,900

Oakland 63,994,500 4,582,500 68,577,000

Pittsburgh 80,055,000 -13,765,476 66,289,524

Tampa Bay 55,955,272 1,075,000 57,030,272

Miami 32,121,900 7,500,000 39,621,900

Houston 18,707,800 5,620,738 24,328,538

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

 

[Eye on Baseball]