UPDATED:
OK so the season may be over, but we have had a good ride this year. With Krivsky ability to evaluate talent and security to admit when he messed up, we have a FO capable of doing big things. I wish he could evaluate managing talent better, but thats not the case unfortunately.
Anyhow, this is what Krivsky has to work with this season.
C Ross (arbitration eligible) est. 1.5M
C LaRue 5.2M
C Valentin 1.25M
1B Hatteberg 1.5M
2B Phillips 400K
3B Encarnacion 350K
SS
IF Castro 925K
IF Olmedo 340K
IF Harris 300K
LF Dunn 10.5M
CF Griffey Jr 12.5M
RF Freel 2.65M
OF Denorfia 340K
OF Hopper 300K
OF Watson 350K
OF Wise 350K
SP Harang (arbitration eligible) est. 3M
SP Arroyo 3.8M
SP Milton 9M
SP Claussen 400K
SP Ramirez 350K
SP Kim 600K
RP Coffey 350K
RP Bray 320K
RP Majewski 400K
RP Belisle 400K
RP Shackelford 320K
RP Standridge 320K
RP Balfour 340K
RP Michalak 350K
TOTAL:
$57.755 M
Options
IF Aurilia - mutual 2M (buyout of 350K)
RP Cormier - team 3M (500K buyout)
SP Johnson - mutual 3.5M (500K buyout)
SP Wilson - team 3.75M (850K buyout)
TOTAL:
$70.005M
FA
Clayton
Franklin
Guardado
Hollandsworth
Lohse
Mays
Mercker
Schoeneweis
Weathers
As you can see, many players are getting a raise. Many players are at the tail end of a multi-year deal (expensive year). The price is already steep and it shows that Castellini has to be ready to open his wallet. No doubt Krivsky will slim this roster down quite a bit. But its time to start thinking about how he will do it.
There are a total of 34 players accounted for on this roster for him to pick and choose from. He will have to release quite of few of them and likely take the buyout on a few of the options. The options I see leaving are Johnson and Wilson. I would think those are sure bets and would shrink the total salary by 5.9M. That brings the grand total to 63.68M and 32 players. 7 more to go.
Harris, Olmedo, Watson and Hopper are safe bets to be off the active roster next season. That saves the team another 1.29M.
Then I would think he drops Michalak, Balfour, and Kim. Drop another 1.29M.
That brings us to 25 players and 61.1M.
So what are we looking at? We need a new SS and obviously a better rotation. Krivsky will have a lot on his plate this winter.