Back in October, we took an early look at the A's payroll situation for next season. Now that the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players has passed, we should have a clearer idea of what that payroll will look like.
Here is an updated breakdown:
Guaranteed contracts
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SIGN UP HERE Stephen Piscotty: $7,333,333
Yusmeiro Petit: $5,500,000
Fernando Rodney: $5,250,000
Liam Hendriks: $2,150,000
Athletics
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Josh Phegley: $1,075,000
Ryan Dull: $860,000
Retained Salary
Brandon Moss: $1,000,000
Total guaranteed salary: $23,168,333
Arbitration
Here are the A's six remaining arbitration-eligible players, along with their projected arbitration number from MLB Trade Rumors:
Khris Davis - $18.1M
Marcus Semien - $6.6M
Blake Treinen - $5.8M
Sean Manaea - $3.8M
Mark Canha - $2.1M
Ryan Buchter - $1.3M
Estimated payroll, including arbitration-eligible players: $60,868,333
Pre-arbitration
The following players on the 40-man roster are not yet eligible for arbitration and will likely make somewhere between $500,000 and $600,000:
Matt Olson
Matt Chapman
Franklin Barreto
Nick Martini
Ramón Laureano
Chad Pinder
Dustin Fowler
Jharel Cotton
Andrew Triggs
A.J. Puk
Jesús Luzardo
Paul Blackburn
Daniel Mengden
Daniel Gossett
Frankie Montas
Emilio Pagan
Lou Trivino
J.B. Wendelken
Chris Bassitt
Aaron Brooks
Estimated payroll, including pre-arbitration players: $72 million
Free Agents
Here are the A's free agents, along with their 2018 salaries:
Jeurys Familia: $7.925M
Jonathan Lucroy - $6.5M
Jed Lowrie - $6M
Matt Joyce - $6M
Shawn Kelley - $5.6M
Brett Anderson - $4M
Edwin Jackson - $1.5M
Trevor Cahill - $1.5M
Analysis
By the end of last season, Oakland's payroll was around $80 million. Executive vice president Billy Beane has said he expects an increased payroll next year, although he did not specify how much.
At $72 million without including free agents, even a 20 percent increase in payroll would leave the A's with less than $25 million to spend, and they still need to add a catcher and multiple starting pitchers.
With that in mind, there is almost no way the A's will re-sign Familia or Joyce. Lowrie's market value is listed at $12.6 million a year by Spotrac, which means there's a good chance he won't return either.
A Lucroy reunion would probably make sense for both sides. Spotrac lists his market value at just $2.3 million, though he figures to get more than that, having made $6.5 million last year. Oakland could also choose to sign a different free agent catcher, of which there are many this year.
The A's have expressed interest in re-signing Kelley, but he would likely need to take a pay cut from last year's $5.6 million salary, given the A's already-deep bullpen.
That leaves Jackson, Cahill, and Anderson. Oakland desperately needs starting pitching, whether it's from this group or other free agents, and Jackson and Cahill will likely see significant raises from last season.
Clearly, the A's still have some tough decisions ahead of them.