Nine arbitration raises, new reliever contracts, the jump in catcher pay -- these numbers are all the public domain. The 26-man Opening Day roster came in under $164 million last season. Right now the payroll expectations for 19 players is $173.5 million. Various youngsters would push that to $180 million.
I believe we will see more teams exceeding $200 million in payroll -- and more over $300 million -- than ever before. So the gulf will widen between where DeWitt has viewed his sweet spot and where the bigger spenders are going. As I noted earlier, that will put a spotlight on the Blues.
By the time Lemieux was 24, he had scored 838 points. Thompson at age 25 is just not scoring at more than a point per game.
I haven't checked the QB portal lately, but the action in there is hot and heavy. Ideally, yes, Drinkwitz will land a proven QB to with Cook. There is not much indication that Horn progressed as a freshman. But the competition is fierce and I can't begin to guess which guy Missouri would have a legit shot at.
Roy also insists that Tarasenko wants to be a Blue for life, even though Tarasenko has declined to comment on his future when given the chance.
Murphy is a more well-rounded catcher for sure and his modest pay would have allowed the Cardinals to spend elsewhere. Instead, the Cardinals kept two position players who would start if the season began tomorrow and their top starting pitching prospect -- a guy who could debut in 2023. So you can see this both ways.
For me, it would come two down between Pedro Guerrero and Larry Walker. But that's just the top of my head and Cesar Cedeno's torrid '85 performance was before my time in the STL.
Well, it is. The penalty killing is effort, sacrifice and cohesion. The Blues lack all three now.
The back end the contract could get tough, although the DH slot does offer Contreras some refuge. I don't know why the Cubs decided not to bid on him, but then against I don't know why the Cubs ran off all of their winning players. And some fans believe the Cardinals have terrible ownership . . .
He said the payroll is going up and it is going up. Fans can pretend that meant the Cardinals were going to spend to the luxury tax, but Mozeliak never said that.
Well, I guess that is a compliment . . .
Winn making the Opening Day roster would be a stretch. Might the Cardinals start Jordan Walker up here from Day 1? That is more likely.
Burleson could start the year in Memphis. Walker could too, unless he spins heads in the spring. Yepez, as a right-side hitter who can only sort of play the outfield, could have a hard time getting at bats if everybody else is healthy and hitting. Of course, that is the big if and that's why the Cardinals could again spread the at bats around while sorting these guys.
Glasnow is an interesting case. He is coming back from Tommy John surgery. I expect the Rays to ride him this year due to his modest $5.35 million salary. It's worth a shot, right? But his unique contract calls for a jump to $25 million in 2024, which would have been his free agent year. So expect him to hit the trade block at some point. At that point the Cardinals could bid, since Adam Wainwright will be coming off the books in 2024.
Let's see what the A's ultimately get for him. They have him under control, so they can't be patient and wait for a team to develop an acute need that causes them to overspend.
I hope to stick around for a while, but I'm not a kid any more. I came to realize this again while trying to playing full-court basketball this morning. I survived without suffering a new orthopedic injury, but I am hobbling around the house.
There was a market for Nimmo, with several teams interested. But this was also a case of an owner with billions to burn just throwing caution to the wind. There is more of that in baseball these days. Like we've noted, that puts more focus on the Cardinals.
Our friend Roy gets a bit excited with his proclamations.
That's fair. We discussed that point on the Net Front Presence podcast today.
The Contreras signing was one piece of the projected 2023 offense. He should offer a significant upgrade from what the team for from the catching position. Then again, matching the second-half DH production will be impossible. But topping the outfield production could be quite doable, since O'Neill went from being a fringe MVP candidate to a complete wash last season. I am willing to be that he does better than he did last year because how could he not? Also, a full year of the new Lars Nootbaar would be an upgrade, if that new version holds. And then there is Jordan Walker, who has star potential.
Ville Husso is not coming back. And even if he did, he could not save this team as it is currently playing.
For the moment, Berube is safe because he has a multi-year contract extension and Armstrong gave him a strong vote of confidence earlier. Also, Armstrong has to ponder while switching to an interim coach will jar this team enough to make a difference and decide which coach he would want for the permanent role going forward.
I quit playing in my early 50s and got goaded into a comeback in my early 60s. I immediately pulled a calf muscle. During the pandemic, shooting hoops on the playground kept me sane. After all those years off I felt fine to play again because there was no wear and tear. I sit on my butt all day. I took it slow, hit the treadmill, played a bit here and there, started flying around on defensive switches . . . and then I tweaked my knee chasing a younger guy. So we'll see how this comeback goes.
I'll give you some slack, But you are prone to hyperbole.
If any owner has enough money to fund these contracts with his billions, he should not pass that cost to the fans. And yet, the fans have shouldered a bigger and bigger load of the salary costs in all sports.
Or so Truman hopes. If KU goes cold and Mizzou stays hot, the Tigers can win. These guys will play in front their first real crowd all season and they will be jacked up. But Kansas loves to play fast and Bill Self's teams can score in bunches.
Today, yes, I had a birthday cupcake. Overall, I'm eating much better than before. So it goes for old farts. There were some dark days earlier in my career. Pro tip: Just because you can order a Marriott Burger via room service at midnight after a game, don't do that right before bed. Just because that White Castle is open on your route home after a game, don't grab a six-packet of sliders for the ride.
Thanks. And with that, I will move on for the day. Thanks for all the comments, complaints and well wishes.
Nine arbitration raises, new reliever contracts, the jump in catcher pay -- these numbers are all the public domain. The 26-man Opening Day roster came in under $164 million last season. Right now the payroll expectations for 19 players is $173.5 million. Various youngsters would push that to $180 million.