Updated Roster and Payroll Projections

Here is a revised look at the Phillies 2012 roster and payroll projections. The numbers for the arbitration players and players lacking service time are subject to change. They are merely educated guesses.

According to the Associated Press, it appears the MLB Luxury Tax will not be going up as it had the previous five seasons. It will remain the same as it was in 2011; $178 million. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Phillies won’t go over it, but in the past they’ve seemingly been reluctant to do it. It had gone up $8 million per season over the last five years of the old CBA. That’s no longer the case.

Included in the new CBA is a provision that will raise the minimum salary from $414,000 to $480,000. That could change some things for the Phillies with guys like Mayberry and Martinez. In the projections below, I’ve made those changes.

Blue: money that the Phillies owe in 2012
Red: educated guess as to how much player will earn in 2012 (arbitration or otherwise)

Infield/Catchers

–Ryan Howard: $20MM
–Chase Utley: $15.286MM
-Jimmy Rollins: $11MM
–Placido Polanco: $6.417MM
–Carlos Ruiz: $3.7MM
-Ty Wigginton: $2MM
–Jim Thome: $1.25MM
-Brian Schndeider: 800K
–Michael Martinez: $480K

$60.933MM (9 players)

Outfield:

–Hunter Pence: $10.4MM
–Shane Victorino: $9.5MM
-Laynce Nix: $1.15MM
–John Mayberry Jr.: $480K

$21.53MM (4 players)

Starting Pitching:

–Cliff Lee: $21.5MM
–Roy Halladay: $20MM
–Cole Hamels: $15MM
–Joe Blanton: $10.5MM
–Vance Worley: $480K

$66.48MM (5 players)

Relief Pitching:

–Jonathan Papelbon: $11MM
–Kyle Kendrick: $3.59MM
–Jose Contreras: $2.5MM
-Chad Qualls: $1.15MM
-Dontrelle Willis: $1MM
–David Herndon: $575K
–Antonio Bastardo: $575K
–Michael Stutes: $480K

$21.05MM (8 players)

Payments:

–Roy Oswalt: $2MM
–Brad Lidge: $1.5MM
-Ty Wigginton: -$2 million from Colorado

Estimated Total: $171.29 million (25 players, two buyouts, Wigginton money from Rockies)

Luxury Tax: $178 million (in 2012)

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The Phillies are getting closer to the luxury tax but with the signing of Jimmy Rollins and the settling of contracts for Hamels and Pence, it appears they have a full 25-man roster ready to go at this time. Juan Pierre and Scott Podsednik will duke it out for that final outfield spot, so one of the eight relievers will likely not stay.

With this 25-man crew the Phillies look to be somewhere in the $171 million range, so there isn’t much room to maneuver with the MLB luxury tax just ahead.

UPDATE: Here is a better breakdown of the new luxury tax rules in the new MLB CBA.

NOTE: According to USA Today’s salary database, the Phillies spent a shade under $173 million in 2011, Cot’s Contracts says the Phillies spent $165 million.

*(Cot’s Contracts, USA Today, and Baseball-reference, as well as a myriad of articles, were used in this payroll rundown)