By the time the 2015 season has concluded, the Philadelphia Phillies will have spent over $1.1 billion on their payroll from 2009 (the year after their 2008 World Championship) through 2015. The only teams to spend more over the same time period are the Yankees, Red Sox, and thanks to a surge over the last three seasons, the Dodgers. But those three teams, along with the Tigers, Rangers, Giants, and Angels, among others, all have significant cash tied up in their payrolls for 2016 and beyond.
The Phillies? They don’t. The Phillies have escaped the endless cycle of spending that brought an end to their glory years of five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants, and one World Championship.
Perhaps even more remarkably is how much of the Phillies’ future payroll is tied up in dead money. That’s normally not a good thing, but the Phillies only have roughly $90 million committed in future payroll. $25 million of that is dedicated to buyouts for Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Matt Harrison, and Carlos Ruiz. $26 million of it is dedicated to the salary of Harrison, who could end up being released this offseason if his recovery from back surgery isn’t going as well as the Phillies hope. $25 million of the dedicated salary is going to Ryan Howard in 2016, the last remaining awful contract let on the books for Philadelphia. Carlos Ruiz is making $8.5 million next year, while the Phillies are on the hook for $4.667 million to Cuban bust Miguel Gonzalez.
And that’s it. Only five players are guaranteed money for the Phillies past this season – a buyout on a veteran, a good chunk of change to a guy that may not throw an inning for the team, a bust that isn’t being counted on, and the presumptive starting first baseman and catcher…assuming neither is traded this winter, of course (which isn’t a sure thing).
This puts Philadelphia in an enviable position, for a couple of reasons. First off, the Phillies can make splashes in free agency with little regard for long-term viability. Want to give David Price, Zack Greinke, and Jason Heyward $200 million contracts? Go ahead! Even if the deals are severely backloaded, Philadelphia has just $2 million (Harrison’s buyout) on the books past 2017 – they have plenty of flexibility.
The second reason that this could be a major advantage for the Phillies is their ability to eat money in return for prospects, much like they did with Harrison in the Cole Hamels trade and the Braves did with the Diamondbacks in the Bronson Arroyo deal. If any team has an awful contract they want to unload, the Phillies can be right there, ready to absorb the entire deal – along with a top 100 prospect, of course.
The Phillies increased their payroll from $59 million to $95 million from 2002 to 2003, increased their win total by six, and embarked on a stretch of ten straight .500 seasons. In 2016, they’re likely going to end up a payroll in the middle of the pack like in 2002. Hopefully, the team’s front office makes smart investments with their newly available money, like Bobby Abreu (via a long-term extension) and Kevin Millwood, and not poor ones like Jim Thome (a 31-year old DH that was going to be playing on the Veterans Stadium concrete for a season before moving over to Citizens Bank Park), David Bell, and Eric Milton.
