Additions of Marlon Byrd ($8 million) and AJ Burnett ($14.7 million) were big reasons for the jump in payroll. Players like Carlos Ruiz and Kyle Kendrick received raises this season, which also contributed to the payroll spike. The Phillies currently have three players on the roster who are scheduled to make over $20 million, all of whom are over the age of 30. Ryan Howard ($25 million) Cliff Lee ($25 million) and Cole Hamels ($23.5 million) are the highest paid Phillies on the roster.
Amaro has stated that the Phillies are at their peak in terms of spending. He was quoted in the Daily News today saying the ownership group has given him every opportunity to compete, and that the current teams budget is far beyond where it is supposed to be. Yet even with a high payroll its safe to say most Phillies fans are not overly optimistic about this season.
The average age of the current active roster is 29.4 years old. The two big acquisitions this offseason are 36 (Byrd) and 37 (Burnett) years old. When looking at the roster fans see an old team that’s getting paid a lot of money. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies end up contending and whether or not they add payroll at the deadline…or unload and break it all down.
