American League West Teams Ranked By Payroll 2017
If money changes everything, then how much does it affect your position where it counts - in the standings?
The 2017 team payroll numbers are now available. Several sources exist, I went with the numbers from Spotrac. But before getting into what each American League West club is spending, let's look at the money vs. results for the past few years.
Los Angeles Angels - $180.7 million ($89.8 million)
Texas Rangers - $168.5 million ($134.7 million)
Seattle Mariners - $154.7 million ($131.8 million)
Houston Astros - $114.7 million ($75.4 million)
Oakland Athletics - $99.9 million ($27.8 million)
And the final 2016 standings:
Texas Rangers: 95-67
Seattle Mariners: 86-76
Houston Astros: 84-78
Los Angeles Angels: 74-88
Oakland Athletics: 69-93
In terms of return on investment, the Rangers got what they paid for...and so did the A's. If any club stands out, it's the Angels, who paid about $2.4 million per win while finishing 4th. Almost 14 percent of their payroll costs went to Albert Pujols alone. That's why reporters refer to the Angels as "top heavy."
The obvious takeaway though is that when you look at money spent on the active 25-man roster - the players who actually played the games - then the teams almost finished in the exact order of money spent, with only the Astros swtiching places with the Angels.
The same exact thing happened in 2015, with once again the Astros leapfrogging the Angels (right into a playoff spot).
Does it mean the Astros front office is doing a better job managing their club? Maybe. Does it mean the Angels are overpaying for Pujols? Yeah, probably. But who am I to cast stones? I can barely balance my checkbook and last time I checked, Pujols still knocks in a ton of runs.
And look: In 2014, the Angels won the division...and also paid the most for the 25-man roster. The black swan that year were, of course, the A's. They were fourth in spending that year on the active roster - $64.9 million (a lot for the A's) - and got a wildcard spot.
It's also worth noting that the Astros outperformed again that year. The spent the least ($41.6 million) and finished fourth, ahead of the Rangers, who spent $108.5 million to finish in last.
Seattle Mariners - $132.9 million
Hey, look who's tired of not making the playoffs. The team made a dizzying number of off-season transactions, check out the list here. The bulk of the cash still goes to four core guys: Felix Hernandez ($26 million), Robinson Cano ($24 million) and $14 million apiece to Nelson Cruz and Hisashi Iwakuma. If this works, great. Mariners fans are long overdue a winner. But if it doesn't, then what?
Texas Rangers - $120 million
The Rangers have seriously invested in pitching - Cole Hamels is the highest paid Ranger at $22 million, while Yu Darvish ranks No. 5 at $11 million. The top played position player? Shin-Soo Choo at $20 million.
Houston Astros - $117.9 million
This is what they mean by the Astros going for it. To compliment the young core of players, they signed Carlos Beltran for $16 million for one year, Josh Reddick to a four-year deal (paying $13 million this year), claimed Nori Aoki off waivers from the Mariners ($5.5 million) and traded for Yankees catcher Brian McCann ($16 million this year). Management has made the moves to make this the year.
This is, long-term, a good sign for Angels fans. Of course, $26 million goes to Pujols and $20 million to Mike Trout - that's almost 35 percent of active player payroll going to two guys. But no one is going to argue about what the Angels pay Trout. Ricky Nolasco, the highest paid starting pitcher, is getting another $12 million. Clearly, the Angels shed payroll this year and are in kind of an unconventional rebuild. If that pitching rotation doesn't hold up, look for a full-on rebuild in 2018.
Oakland Athletics - $59.2 million
They signed relief pitcher Ryan Madson for $7.5 million. He's the top paid guy on the team. They have a long list of up-and-coming young guys making less than $1 million, and then about 10 proven-but-not-superstar players who are ages 29-plus to compliment them. Or hold positions until the young guys arrive. They include Jed Lowrie ($6.5 million), Rajai Davis ($6 million), Trevor Plouffe ($5.2 million) and Matt Joyce ($5 million), There is a method to the A's madness, I am sure of it, but this post is too long already.
Got some time? Noodle around with all the payroll stats at Spotrac.
The 2017 team payroll numbers are now available. Several sources exist, I went with the numbers from Spotrac. But before getting into what each American League West club is spending, let's look at the money vs. results for the past few years.
Return On Investment In the AL West
Here's what the American League West clubs spent by team last season. These numbers include the active 25-man roster, plus money wrapped up in players on the DL and money paid to players no longer on the team. The money spent on active players is in parentheses.Los Angeles Angels - $180.7 million ($89.8 million)
Texas Rangers - $168.5 million ($134.7 million)
Seattle Mariners - $154.7 million ($131.8 million)
Houston Astros - $114.7 million ($75.4 million)
Oakland Athletics - $99.9 million ($27.8 million)
And the final 2016 standings:
Texas Rangers: 95-67
Seattle Mariners: 86-76
Houston Astros: 84-78
Los Angeles Angels: 74-88
Oakland Athletics: 69-93
In terms of return on investment, the Rangers got what they paid for...and so did the A's. If any club stands out, it's the Angels, who paid about $2.4 million per win while finishing 4th. Almost 14 percent of their payroll costs went to Albert Pujols alone. That's why reporters refer to the Angels as "top heavy."
The obvious takeaway though is that when you look at money spent on the active 25-man roster - the players who actually played the games - then the teams almost finished in the exact order of money spent, with only the Astros swtiching places with the Angels.
The same exact thing happened in 2015, with once again the Astros leapfrogging the Angels (right into a playoff spot).
Does it mean the Astros front office is doing a better job managing their club? Maybe. Does it mean the Angels are overpaying for Pujols? Yeah, probably. But who am I to cast stones? I can barely balance my checkbook and last time I checked, Pujols still knocks in a ton of runs.
And look: In 2014, the Angels won the division...and also paid the most for the 25-man roster. The black swan that year were, of course, the A's. They were fourth in spending that year on the active roster - $64.9 million (a lot for the A's) - and got a wildcard spot.
It's also worth noting that the Astros outperformed again that year. The spent the least ($41.6 million) and finished fourth, ahead of the Rangers, who spent $108.5 million to finish in last.
The 2017 AL West Payroll Rankings
So rather than look at what each team is paying in total, the figure that is typically the one reported, let's look at what the teams are actually spending on the field (as of now - that number obviously fluctuates as the year goes on).Seattle Mariners - $132.9 million
Hey, look who's tired of not making the playoffs. The team made a dizzying number of off-season transactions, check out the list here. The bulk of the cash still goes to four core guys: Felix Hernandez ($26 million), Robinson Cano ($24 million) and $14 million apiece to Nelson Cruz and Hisashi Iwakuma. If this works, great. Mariners fans are long overdue a winner. But if it doesn't, then what?
Texas Rangers - $120 million
The Rangers have seriously invested in pitching - Cole Hamels is the highest paid Ranger at $22 million, while Yu Darvish ranks No. 5 at $11 million. The top played position player? Shin-Soo Choo at $20 million.
Houston Astros - $117.9 million
This is what they mean by the Astros going for it. To compliment the young core of players, they signed Carlos Beltran for $16 million for one year, Josh Reddick to a four-year deal (paying $13 million this year), claimed Nori Aoki off waivers from the Mariners ($5.5 million) and traded for Yankees catcher Brian McCann ($16 million this year). Management has made the moves to make this the year.
Los Angeles Angels - $109.8 million
This is, long-term, a good sign for Angels fans. Of course, $26 million goes to Pujols and $20 million to Mike Trout - that's almost 35 percent of active player payroll going to two guys. But no one is going to argue about what the Angels pay Trout. Ricky Nolasco, the highest paid starting pitcher, is getting another $12 million. Clearly, the Angels shed payroll this year and are in kind of an unconventional rebuild. If that pitching rotation doesn't hold up, look for a full-on rebuild in 2018.
Oakland Athletics - $59.2 million
They signed relief pitcher Ryan Madson for $7.5 million. He's the top paid guy on the team. They have a long list of up-and-coming young guys making less than $1 million, and then about 10 proven-but-not-superstar players who are ages 29-plus to compliment them. Or hold positions until the young guys arrive. They include Jed Lowrie ($6.5 million), Rajai Davis ($6 million), Trevor Plouffe ($5.2 million) and Matt Joyce ($5 million), There is a method to the A's madness, I am sure of it, but this post is too long already.
Got some time? Noodle around with all the payroll stats at Spotrac.
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