Baltimore Orioles: Total Salary Obligations after Chris Davis

The current total salary for the 2016 Baltimore Orioles has already passed $130 million dollars, so how much more room is there for any other additions?

Everyone knew that the Orioles were going to have to spend more money in 2016 than previously, and maybe even a lot more if they were going to improve the lineup whatsoever and compete in the American League East.

The signing of Chris Davis, and more specifically the deferred nature of the structure of his contract, allows for an additional five or six million dollars from what might have been anticipated. That is, if the Orioles are willing to allocate it elsewhere.

At this moment, there are 15 contracts with the terms known. Additionally there are two arbitration-eligible players still in the works: Zach Britton and Brian Matusz. We can estimate their probable numbers with some degree of accuracy. The final eight spots will be occupied by players drawing salaries around the league minimum in the low $500 thousands.

Charting it, this is how it looks and how it tallies at the bottom …

• Chris Davis – 17.0
• Adam Jones – 16.3
• Matt Wieters – 15.8
• Ubaldo Jimenez – 13.0
• J.J. Hardy – 12.5
• Mark Trumbo – 9.15
• Chris Tillman – 6.225
• Darren O’Day – 6.0
• Miguel Gonzalez – 5.1
• Manny Machado – 5.0 (with incentives)
• Hyeon-soo Kim – 2.8
• Vance Worley – 2.6
• Ryan Flaherty – 1.5
• Nolan Reimold – 1.3
• Brad Brach – 1.25

Subtotal of 15 known contracts = $115.525 million

• Zach Britton – 7.0 (estimate)
• Brain Matusz – 3.75 (estimate)
• Certain Others – 2.2 (Gausman, Schoop, Givens, Joseph)
• Necessary Others – 2.2 (McFarland? Hoes? Rickard? Wright/Wilson?)

Total payroll without later additions = $130.675 million

According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the opening day payroll of the 25-man roster over the last seven years have had these amounts:

2015 – $118.98 million

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2014 – $107.98 million

2013 – $92.24 million

2012 – $84.10 million

2011 – $86.94 million

2010 – $73.81 million

2009 – $67.10 million

So with just an additional $4 million to another player, the Orioles will have doubled their opening day payroll in just seven years. How imaginable do you belief it is that the O’s are going to add much of anything else?