Another look at the 2017 payroll

After the Orioles agreed to 2017 contracts with five players this week, avoiding possible arbitration hearings, their 2017 payroll is continuing to take shape.

It is not dramatically different from before these agreements, since projections put the payroll in the same ballpark now as it was, say, a week ago.

Locked-in dollars for 2017:
$17 million - Chris Davis
$16.3 million - Adam Jones
$14 million - J. J. Hardy
$13.5 million - Ubaldo Jimenez
$11.5 million - Manny Machado
$11.4 million - Zach Britton
$10.05 million - Chris Tillman
$8.750 million - Wade Miley
$7 million - Darren O'Day
$7 million - Seth Smith
$6 million - Welington Castillo
$4.2 million - Hyun Soo Kim
$3.475 million - Jonathan Schoop
$1.8 million - Ryan Flaherty
$685,000 - T.J. McFarland
$650,000 - Logan Ondrusek

These 16 players have base salaries for the 2017 season that total $133.31 million. Some websites list Davis at $21 million for the season, but I believe they are factoring in deferred money that will come later for the Orioles first baseman.

After reaching agreements to avoid potential arbitration hearings with Britton, Machado, Tillman, Schoop, Flaherty and McFarland this week, the Orioles have three players left that still could go to arbitration hearings.

MLBTradeRumors.com projected these salaries for the three:
$3.9 million - Kevin Gausman
$2.9 million - Brad Brach
$1.0 million - Caleb Joseph

That adds up to $7.8 million. That brings the Orioles' projected payroll for the 19 players listed above at $141.11 million.

But those numbers could change a bit as various reports last night indicated the Orioles and Gausman exchanged arbitration numbers with the O's at $3.15 million and Gausman at $3.55 million. Brach seeks $3.05 million with the Orioles at $2.525 million, and Joseph at $1 million with the Orioles countering at $700,000. While in past years the club and player would often meet in the middle, the Orioles are said to be likely to go to hearings with all three players where an arbitration panel will choose one figure or the other.

By the way, the total for the six players that avoided arbitration this week - Machado, Britton, Tillman, Schoop, Flaherty and McFarland - is a combined $38.91 million for 2017. Those six totaled $20.513 million for 2016.

Obviously, the Orioles still need to add some players to this list, and if they signed Mark Trumbo to a salary in the $13-14 million range for just 2017, that would take the payroll over $150 million.

The payroll will also add dollars for the pre-arbitration players. Those players, not yet eligible for salary arbitration, would likely receive salaries at or just above the minimum major league salary of $535,000 for next season.

This is a group that would include players such as Mychal Givens, Dylan Bundy, Joey Rickard, Donnie Hart and Trey Mancini, to name just a few. If the Orioles have six or seven such players on the 2017 roster, you can add another $3-4 million there.

So the payroll for 25 players looks to be in the $145 million range right now, pending other additions, acquisition or signings.

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts website, the Orioles' payroll has increased every year since 2012:
2012: $84.1 million
2013: $92.2 million
2014: $107.9 million
2015: $118.9 million
2016: $147.7 million

Spotrac.com listed Baltimore's 2016 payroll as $151.9 million for the 25-man roster and with a total payroll at $156.9 million to rank 12th among all major league teams.