Do the Mariners have money to spend?
Lots of hand-wringing by M's fans right now. On one hand, you have fans and sports writers who add up the money owed to players next year-
Ichiro- $11 mil
Boone- $9 mil
etc....
And you end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of $72 million tied up in contracts for next year. If you assume Lincoln will give Bavasi a $92 million opening day lineup ($10 mil more than this year) and another $5 million in reserve, it would then seem Bavasi has roughly $20 million to spend this offseason.
Considering he needs at least one starting pitcher, a CF, a backup catcher, a 3B etc... it doesn't seem possible to get a Beltran or Beltre on that sort of budget. Instead, fans are fearing the likes of Cory Lidle being peddled as reasons for hope in '05.
On the other hand, we have people who are close to Bavasi and Lincoln and swear they really have changed- out with the old model, in with the new. The idea that stars aren't needed is certainly a Gillick trait that Bavasi clearly does not hold, so we know the M's will be aggresive.
The problem is pretty obvious though- Bavasi can only do so much given all the bad contracts guaranteed for next year. The problems for Bavasi this winter are-
Make no mistake, Bavasi's job this winter is monumentally hard. The only way to bring a guy like Beltran to Seattle is to seriously overpay. One only need look at the Seahawks and Grant Wistrom for an example.
Here is what Bavasi needs to do.
1) Go aggressive after big name free agents who you have targeted who you know will make a difference (eg. Beltran, Drew)
2) Don't worry about budget, sign the key players first. Backload the heck out of it.
3) Stand up to Lincoln and force him to write-off the likes of Cirillo and other bad contracts for this year (ie. tell him you are not basing your '05 budget on previous disasters)
4) After signing players to get fans excited, fill out roster with quality free agents and force Lincoln to hold true to his word to season ticket holders.
There is no rule in baseball that says the M's have to decide their budget for next year in November. If the M's are really serious about contending short-term, they need to build the team the right way now, and worry about how to pay for it down the road.
Bavasi knows he's on the hot seat. He also knows he's in an almost impossible situation. He needs to battle Lincoln over every dollar he can this winter, so if he does get fired next October, he can hold his head high and know he did everything he could to rebuild this team.
There will be no GM in baseball this winter who is being asked to do more, with less, than Bill Bavasi.
Good luck.
Lots of hand-wringing by M's fans right now. On one hand, you have fans and sports writers who add up the money owed to players next year-
Ichiro- $11 mil
Boone- $9 mil
etc....
And you end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of $72 million tied up in contracts for next year. If you assume Lincoln will give Bavasi a $92 million opening day lineup ($10 mil more than this year) and another $5 million in reserve, it would then seem Bavasi has roughly $20 million to spend this offseason.
Considering he needs at least one starting pitcher, a CF, a backup catcher, a 3B etc... it doesn't seem possible to get a Beltran or Beltre on that sort of budget. Instead, fans are fearing the likes of Cory Lidle being peddled as reasons for hope in '05.
On the other hand, we have people who are close to Bavasi and Lincoln and swear they really have changed- out with the old model, in with the new. The idea that stars aren't needed is certainly a Gillick trait that Bavasi clearly does not hold, so we know the M's will be aggresive.
The problem is pretty obvious though- Bavasi can only do so much given all the bad contracts guaranteed for next year. The problems for Bavasi this winter are-
- Dead weight tied up in Cirillo and Gonzalez
- No way to trade players like Spiezio
- Almost certainly stuck with Boone at $9 mil
- No reliable innings-eating starter (their either hurt, old or unproven)
- No attractive players to trade (injuries, lousy drafts, poor evaluation of current talent)
- Reluctance for big name free agents to come to Seattle
Make no mistake, Bavasi's job this winter is monumentally hard. The only way to bring a guy like Beltran to Seattle is to seriously overpay. One only need look at the Seahawks and Grant Wistrom for an example.
Here is what Bavasi needs to do.
1) Go aggressive after big name free agents who you have targeted who you know will make a difference (eg. Beltran, Drew)
2) Don't worry about budget, sign the key players first. Backload the heck out of it.
3) Stand up to Lincoln and force him to write-off the likes of Cirillo and other bad contracts for this year (ie. tell him you are not basing your '05 budget on previous disasters)
4) After signing players to get fans excited, fill out roster with quality free agents and force Lincoln to hold true to his word to season ticket holders.
There is no rule in baseball that says the M's have to decide their budget for next year in November. If the M's are really serious about contending short-term, they need to build the team the right way now, and worry about how to pay for it down the road.
Bavasi knows he's on the hot seat. He also knows he's in an almost impossible situation. He needs to battle Lincoln over every dollar he can this winter, so if he does get fired next October, he can hold his head high and know he did everything he could to rebuild this team.
There will be no GM in baseball this winter who is being asked to do more, with less, than Bill Bavasi.
Good luck.
posted by Tom at
7:23 PM
