Way too early offseason

[Michael K.]

**2025 MLB Team Payroll and Winning Percentage**

Team | Payroll (USD, millions) | Winning % (as of 7/31/2025)

New York Mets | $323.1 | .585 (62-44)
Los Angeles Dodgers | $321.3 | .575 (61-45)
New York Yankees | $293.5 | .543 (57-48)
Philadelphia Phillies | $284.2 | .571 (60-45)
Toronto Blue Jays | $239.6 | .594 (63-43)
Texas Rangers | $220.5 | .528 (56-50)
Houston Astros | $220.2 | .566 (60-46)
Atlanta Braves | $214.8 | .423 (44-60)
San Diego Padres | $208.9 | .538 (57-49)
Chicago Cubs | $196.3 | .590 (62-43)
Arizona Diamondbacks | $195.3 | .481 (51-55)
Boston Red Sox | $193.6 | .533 (57-50)
Los Angeles Angels | $190.5 | .481 (51-55)
San Francisco Giants | $173.0 | .509 (54-52)
Baltimore Orioles | $162.3 | .448 (47-58)
Seattle Mariners | $146.8 | .528 (56-50)
Detroit Tigers | $143.2 | .570 (61-46)
Minnesota Twins | $142.8 | .476 (50-55)
St. Louis Cardinals | $141.5 | .505 (54-53)
Kansas City Royals | $130.0 | .491 (52-54)
Colorado Rockies | $120.7 | .257 (27-78)
Cincinnati Reds | $115.5 | .528 (56-50)
Milwaukee Brewers | $115.1 | .590 (62-43)
Washington Nationals | $107.7 | .410 (43-62)
Cleveland Guardians | $100.5 | .495 (52-53)
Pittsburgh Pirates | $87.6 | .415 (44-62)
Tampa Bay Rays | $79.2 | .500 (53-53)
Chicago White Sox | $82.3 | .358 (38-68)
Oakland Athletics | $73.1 | .426 (46-62)
Miami Marlins | $67.4 | .481 (50-54)

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Not sure where you got that, but Spotrac as the rankings a bit different. But even looking at your numbers, what is your point? That not spending is good? The Brewers caught lightening in a bottle. Otherwise? Are you trying to justify not spending by showing those figures? Four teams under us with winning records, one of them spends 3.6 less and another 5.3 less. Again, the outlier is Milwaukee, but I imagine they are going to have to spend to keep that club together.

I might be a bit curious about this list, since the bottom teams don't make sense. In what world is 79 million spending more than 82 million?

[DanielVogelbach]

Increasing payroll gives you more options. But, it's not required to win a World Series. It's also totally possible to spend a lot of money on guys that don't perform. Younger players are hungrier. Younger players are also arguably more fun to watch.

I'm gonna run a chart on World Series Champ and payroll ranking and i'll post it in a bit. I think the Royals won it all with a low payroll. Florida Marlins. Tampa Bay Rays. I don't think any of those teams were spending much.

I personally don't really care how much the Mariners spend on payroll. They can spend more or less it's of no concern to me. I just think what they've done for 2025 has been solid.

I mentioned before but we can't discount Robles yet. He was good in 2024 and got injured right away this season. He might come back and be a force.

The idea that this team sucks without Geno and Josh is not true. They were already good. And the farm is loaded up with top 100 prospects (#1 in MLB with 9, Astros only have 1, Rangers have 3, Oakland has 3) You really don't even need Geno and josh you just need something other then Ben Williamson and Solano. The team is looking good for this season and also going into next season and beyond. This is a high-water mark for the franchise.

[D-train]

Back to the topic at hand.....
To me the biggest need is 1B they have nothing in the Minors that is close. There were rumors that the Braves were making Matt Olson available at the deadline. If I am Rosterbating I am making that trade.

Next I am signing Geno to a 2 year deal while the young infielders continue to develop. 5 of their top 13 prospects are middle infielders. Hopefully they should be able to fill 3B and SS from within as JP and Geno's contracts expire.

Lastly I am adding a couple of leverage relievers.

If Ford doesn't go in the the Olson trade, bring him up as backup catcher/DH.

Looking at some back of the napkin payroll calcs. and factoring in the expiring contracts as well as arbitration raises it seems like you should be able to get that done somewhere around 180-190 Million. Which would be just outside of the top 10 in payroll.

Would you rather have Olson who has averaged a .800 OPS since the beginning of last season for 4 x $22 and give up a prospect(s) for the next four years for his age 32-35 seasons or Sign Naylor for a similar amount for four years and keep all of your prospects for his age 29-32 seasons?

[Donn Beach]

Terms of their deadline deals, I have always felt deadline deals are mostly hype. But now that dipoto pulled it off it is a lot of fun. What impresses me was how he handled it, they were good deals. I always felt there was something irritating about the guy but generally speaking, he's no dummy. The draft, the deadline, the farm, extending Cal, its getting harder for me to ignore his accomplishments. The deal use to be the players hated him, wouldn't allow him in the clubhouse. I am beginning to doubt that narrative as well

[DanielVogelbach]

Gotta see how this season plays out. But if Naylor continues to tear it up for the rest of the season and post-season then every Mariner fan is gonna want him back. Geno too, but he's older whereas Josh could be core piece for many years.

[Donn Beach]

Thinking how when Dipoto was first hired, trying to push Z's team into the playoffs, all the trades and all that. He was such an idiot, seemed like another Z type hire. A guy that talked his way in. There there was like a middle portion, like the clown era. They were building but he seemed so disagreeable. But now lately I feel myself warming to him. I am thinking, maybe its like a proof that if you just leave a guy in the job long enough they will eventually get it figured out. I have always felt there was an odd pattern to GM firings. Just don't do it, lol...

[Donn Beach]

Gotta see how this season plays out. But if Naylor continues to tear it up for the rest of the season and post-season then every Mariner fan is gonna want him back. Geno too, but he's older whereas Josh could be core piece for many years.

they have to take a run at him, what else is there to do? Particularly with him playing well at Tmobile, i assume he is. That has to be an audition they can't ignore. Though Geno could be the better target in that he seems to like being back

[Michael K.]

The idea that this team sucks without Geno and Josh is not true. They were already good. And the farm is loaded up with top 100 prospects (#1 in MLB with 9, Astros only have 1, Rangers have 3, Oakland has 3) You really don't even need Geno and josh you just need something other then Ben Williamson and Solano. The team is looking good for this season and also going into next season and beyond. This is a high-water mark for the franchise.

3 and 7 leading up to the deadline.
9 and 1 after.

Yeah, same team. They were floundering. They made two moves and immediately added them to the middle of the batting order, but the batting order was amazing prior?

I'm over it. You are right. That team that was floating around four five and six games over .500 for an entire season was built to win the division, and adding Naylor and Suarez is insignificant. I'm sure they'd be winning this way anyway. Too bad they didn't just hold onto those prospects and find out.

Fuck the Farm. How many people asked the Dodgers and Rangers after they won rings "but, what about the farm system?" Jesus. You honestly think if they would have come into this season with a major league ready DH, 1st Baseman and 3rd Baseman that would have some how killed the Farm? Jesus Christ dude.

[DanielVogelbach]

Year | Team | Payroll Rank | Total Teams
-----|-----------------------|--------------|-------------
1995 | Atlanta Braves | 4 | 28
1996 | New York Yankees | 1 | 28
1997 | Florida Marlins | 5 | 28
1998 | New York Yankees | 2 | 30
1999 | New York Yankees | 1 | 30
2000 | New York Yankees | 1 | 30
2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 8 | 30
2002 | Anaheim Angels | 15 | 30
2003 | Florida Marlins | 25 | 30
2004 | Boston Red Sox | 2 | 30
2005 | Chicago White Sox | 13 | 30
2006 | St. Louis Cardinals | 11 | 30
2007 | Boston Red Sox | 2 | 30
2008 | Philadelphia Phillies | 13 | 30
2009 | New York Yankees | 1 | 30
2010 | San Francisco Giants | 11 | 30
2011 | St. Louis Cardinals | 10 | 30
2012 | San Francisco Giants | 6 | 30
2013 | Boston Red Sox | 4 | 30
2014 | San Francisco Giants | 7 | 30
2015 | Kansas City Royals | 17 | 30
2016 | Chicago Cubs | 6 | 30
2017 | Houston Astros | 17 | 30
2018 | Boston Red Sox | 1 | 30
2019 | Washington Nationals | 4 | 30
2020 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 | 30
2021 | Atlanta Braves | 14 | 30
2022 | Houston Astros | 10 | 30
2023 | Texas Rangers | 9 | 30
2024 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 | 30

[DanielVogelbach]

Astros are obviously one of the best run franchises. Winning World Series with #17 ranked payroll then a few years later with #10 ranked payroll.

When you say fuck the farm... you do realize why the Mariners have Geno and Josh right? Cuz the farm. Having 9 out of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball is significant when you're sizing up the state of the franchise.

Plus the farm is your player development.

Basically the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox let other teams develop the players, and then they buy them for their old age years. It's kind of a weird system, but that's how it goes.