My Offseason Blueprint For The 2009 Phillies

Per reader request, here’s the payroll for the 2009 Phillies. I took liberties with some of these names, but overall, I feel this is accurate enough. I signed Cole Hamels to a deal that gives him $9M in the first year of the contract. I also gave raises to some players. Joe Blanton gets $5M, Jayson Werth earns $3M, Shane Victorino earns $1.5M. I’m also thinking about signing Victorino to a long-term deal midseason.

I gave Ryan Howard $14M to avoid arbitration. I figure his camp will seek something in the $14M-$15M range. Finally, I signed JA Happ to a near-league minimum deal, and handed raises to other players in pre-arbitration deals. Finally, Jim Thome is off the books, as the White Sox will pick up his option for 2009.

C – Carlos Ruiz – 0.6 ML
C – Chris Coste – 0.5 ML
IF – Ryan Howard – 14 ARB
IF – Chase Utley – 11.0
IF – Pedro Feliz – 5.0
IF – Jimmy Rollins – 7.5
IF – Eric Bruntlett – 0.8 ARB
IF – Greg Dobbs – 0.75 ARB
OF – Jayson Werth – 3.0 ARB
OF – Shane Victorino – 1.5 ARB
OF – Geoff Jenkins – 6.75
OF – Matt Stairs – 1.0
SP – Brett Myers – 12.0
SP – Adam Eaton – 8.5
SP – Joe Blanton – 5.0 ARB
SP – Cole Hamels – 9.0 CTS
SP – Kyle Kendrick – 0.5 ML
SP – JA Happ – 0.42 ML
RP – Brad Lidge – 11.5
RP – JC Romero – 4.0
RP – Ryan Madson – 2.5 ARB
RP – Chad Durbin – 1.4 ARB
RP – Clay Condrey – 0.5 ARB

ARB – Denotes a player either given a raise avoiding abritration, or a player’s award after arbitration. I took educated guesses with these numbers.

CTS – Denotes a player signed to a full contract.

ML – Denotes a player signed to a pre-arbitration deal.
ague-minimum deal.

Total salary for 2008: $104.72M

Most reports have the Phillies breaking the $130M barrier in 2009, so we’ll stand with that logic. The Phillies have $25.28 million to play with.

Move 1: Re-sign Jamie Moyer to two-year, $12M deal with performance bonuses.
Moyer made $7M in 2008 after hitting all his bonuses. For his work, raise the deal and add the bonuses again. For our purposes, let’s say he makes $7.5M in 2009.

Move 2: Re-sign Scott Eyre to one-year, $4M deal.
He wants a one-year deal, and should get a raise from his 2008 salary of $3.8M. Add a $1M bonus for pitching in 60 games, which I don’t expect him to hit. Note: He has signed a one-year $2M deal. Cheaper than I thought.

Move 3: Sign Odalis Perez to one-year, $1.2M deal.
What? Yes. Perez is a back-end starter who is very cheap. He notched a 4.34 ERA in 30 starts for the Nationals. I’d take a flier on him as a contingency plan.

Move 4: Sign Milton Bradley to three-year, $28M deal.
Seems steep, but the Phils can buy low pitching to get Bradley. I’d start with a simple $8M in year one, then $9.5 in year two, before hitching to $10.5M in 2011. Give him a fourth-year option for $12M. Look — he’s the perfect hitter for the offense, he’s good friends with Utley and he’ll play for Charlie Manuel. I can’t overlook this deal.

With those four deals, the Phils would have spent $20.7 million. With the extra $4.3 million:

Move 5: Sign Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Greg Golson, Jason Donald to league-minimum deals.

That should cost the Phils close to $2 million more, putting them at about $22.6 million, and a total payroll of $127.32 million. If necessary before the season, they have room to sign another player or two as pacifiers. In fact …

Move 6: Sign Pete Orr to one-year, $0.45M deal.

That puts the total salary at $123.05 million.

A few notes:

• The real deal that hampers the Phillies is Jamie Moyer. He deserves a raise and will negotiate a slew of bonus opportunities. As much as I love Moyer, I don’t know if the Phils really should sign him for two more years. Is that wrong to say?

• I’m very sold on Bradley, but if the Phils would rather spend more money on the mound, I suggest Brad Penny, while going after Rocco Baldelli for the outfield. That would cost about $11M total in 2009.

So, that all said, here’s Tim Malcolm’s 2009 Phillies roster:

C – Carlos Ruiz / Chris Coste
1B – Ryan Howard
2B – Chase Utley
3B – Pedro Feliz / Greg Dobbs
SS – Jimmy Rollins / Eric Bruntlett
LF – Jayson Werth / Matt Stairs
CF – Shane Victorino
RF – Milton Bradley / Geoff Jenkins
SP – Cole Hamels / Brett Myers / Jamie Moyer / Joe Blanton / JA Happ
RP – Brad Lidge / Ryan Madson / JC Romero / Chad Durbin / Scott Eyre / Odalis Perez / Clay Condrey
AAA – Lou Marson / Jason Donald / Pete Orr / Greg Golson / Carlos Carrasco / Kyle Kendrick / Adam Eaton

To recap, I love Milton Bradley as an outfield signing, and I love Brad Penny as a pitching signing. Considering the money the Phils will likely spend, I can’t see them both coming in.