Dodgers payroll in 2006

[riverdunesrat]

Saturday, September 3, 2005

Payroll drops after years of increases
GM DePodesta says the downward trend won't be significant for next season.

By BILL PLUNKETT
The Orange County Register

DENVER – The Dodgers'payroll is down for the third consecutive season, reversing a decades-long upward spiral that took it from approximately $30 million in 1995 to more than $100 million when the team was sold to Frank McCourt.

At approximately $83 million, this year's payroll ranks 11th in the majors, the first time since 1998 the Dodgers are not in the top 10. That figure doesn't include $10 million of Shawn Green's salary the Dodgers are paying the Arizona Diamondbacks. Including that, the Dodgers' $93 million payroll would be sixth.

But General Manager Paul DePodesta said the downward trend will not necessarily continue in 2006 despite more than $20 million in savings with the completion of commitments to Green, Darren Dreifort and Kazuhisa Ishii (a shared buyout with the New York Mets).

"There is definitely some money coming off but we are committed to spending a lot of that already, certainly not dollar for dollar," DePodesta said.

The Dodgers have eight players under contract for next season at approximately $48 million: J.D. Drew, Jeff Kent, Eric Gagne, Brad Penny, Cesar Izturis, Ricky Ledee, Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe. Those players will receive approximately $13 million in raises next season, with some backloaded bonuses potentially raising the total.

Five players are eligible for salary arbitration this winter: Hee-Seop Choi, Jason Phillips, Milton Bradley, Giovanni Carrara and Kelly Wunsch. None is likely to get more than a modest raise.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers also have a potential windfall of more than $30 million in savings with the departures of Green, Dreifort, Ishii, Wilson Alvarez's expected retirement and the likelihood that Bradley, Jose Valentin and Paul Bako will not be re-signed. That total jumps to $40 million if the Dodgers do not re-sign Jeff Weaver.

DePodesta insists he has never been given a "mandate" to bring payroll down.

Among his first comments as owner, McCourt promised to have a "$100 million-plus payroll." That has changed in the past year to less specific vows to "spend whatever it takes to win."

"The long-term mandate is not to continually bring the payroll down," DePodesta said. "The plan is to keep it in an area where we have the opportunity to win every year. ... I always want to have flexibility. You don't want to spend every dollar in your budget and then sit back for three, four years without being able to do anything."

This winter might not be the best time to have that flexibility. The free-agent market is expected to be rather thin.

"Which is why we spent as much as we did last year," said DePodesta, who signed Drew, Kent, Perez, Lowe and Ledee as free agents.


HOCHEVAR AVAILABLE

The Dodgers' supplemental first-round draft pick, Luke Hochevar, did not attend class Friday at the University of Tennessee, effectively dropping out for the fall semester.

DePodesta, who met with Hochevar's adviser, Scott Boras, at Angel Stadium during the Angels-Oakland A's game Thursday, said it is his understanding Hochevar can re-enroll for the spring semester and still be eligible to play baseball for the Volunteers.

But the negotiating window has opened wide once again with the Dodgers having held firm on their offer of $2.5 million.

"From our standpoint, this is a significant gesture from Luke and his family," DePodesta said.

NOTES

Left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo made his major-league debut Friday and retired one batter in the seventh inning before walking the next two he faced. .... Alvarez will throw off a bullpen mound in Los Angeles today under the supervision of Dodgers physical therapist Pat Screnar. Alvarez has not thrown off a mound since going on the disabled list four weeks ago. It's his third time on the DL with shoulder problems this season.

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Copyright 2005 The Orange County Register

[realmofotalk]

Locking up Brad Penny was a coup. He re-signed for less money than what the Yanks gave Carl Pavano. DePo gave Drew, Lowe, and Perez way too much, but it figures when their only great homegrown player is Gagne.