{"id":49911,"date":"2024-07-01T06:09:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T11:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=49911"},"modified":"2024-07-01T06:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T11:09:21","slug":"bobby-bonilla-day-presents-the-mlb-all-deferred-money-team-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=49911","title":{"rendered":"Bobby Bonilla Day presents the MLB All-Deferred Money Team 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of the year again, where Bobby Bonilla collects a paycheck of $1,193,248 from the New York Mets (as well as a cool $500K from the Baltimore Orioles), despite the fact that he hasn\u2019t played a game of Major League Baseball since 2001.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As easy as it would be to simply clown on the Mets for locking themselves up into such a legendarily bad arrangement (among other things), the game has changed, and deferring money has become a pretty commonplace strategy employed by all sorts of teams who utilize it to circumvent salary constraints, avoiding the luxury tax threshold, or simply to offer up more money than should be necessary to greedy free agents.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, fewer things exemplify the white man\u2019s business world than promising money so far down the line that it’s realistically possible that the people writing up the offers could actually have died of old age when it comes time for the terms of payment to come into play.<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, in the 2024 MLB season, there are <\/span>25 players<\/strong> making deferred money <\/span>according to Spotrac records<\/a>, from <\/span>15 different teams<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is three more players and three more teams employing the buy now-pay later method than the year before.\u00a0 Which also is a convenient number, because that\u2019s basically a 25-man roster without a 26<\/span>th<\/sup> injured reserve player.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cumulatively, <\/span>they are making $78.3M<\/strong>, which is a <\/span>higher than the Oakland A\u2019s<\/strong> (shocker) total payroll of $63.3M.\u00a0 The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles upped their payroll this year, so they wouldn\u2019t be outspent by squad of non-players for a second year in a row.\u00a0 But as far as cumulative 26-man roster values, $78.3M is high enough to eclipse literally a third of Major League Baseball, costing more than what the White Sox, Marlins, Nationals, Reds, Pirates, Rays, <\/span>Indians<\/span> Guardians, Rockies, Brewers and A\u2019s are spending on their daily rosters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Washington Nationals<\/strong> once again take the crown for highest amount of deferred money at $18.5M.\u00a0 This is heavily weighted by the annual $15M chunks they owe SP Max Scherzer between now until 2028, so it doesn\u2019t look like the Nats are going to be relinquishing this crown, at least until the Dodgers begin making their annual payments for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s deferred salary.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, $18.5M is more than what NL MVP Ronald Acu\u00f1a, Jr. is making this year, but the Nats will be getting zero home runs and zero stolen bases for their spend.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nationals may be one of the most frequent users of deferred money, but they\u2019re no longer alone in this tactic of gaming the payroll system.\u00a0 The Orioles, Cardinals and Brewers each had three players making deferred monies this season, and there are teams like the Phillies, Dodgers and Padres are waiting in the wings that will have their own Bonillas in the future as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, teams with no deferred money on the books are the Yankees, Braves, A\u2019s and Rays; the Yankees because they never like being in debt and just pay out everyone as soon as they can, and the Braves, A\u2019s and Rays are just a bunch of cheapskates who rarely would risk putting themselves in a position where they\u2019d possibly owe later, with interest no less.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, let\u2019s get back to main event of this post, the reason why this post has, I\u2019ve decided, become an annual exercise for me, which is to construct the hypothetical roster of guys making deferred money to fill out an entire team.\u00a0 Much of the team is the same as it was last year, but there are a few new additions, and since the DH is now a permanent fixture in both leagues, I\u2019ve added it as a spot in the lineup, because frankly, the quality of players making deferred money can warrant it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos.<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nSalary<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nTeam<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nRetired<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C<\/span><\/td>\nNONE 😔<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1B<\/span><\/td>\nChris Davis<\/span><\/td>\n$9.2M<\/span><\/td>\nBAL<\/span><\/td>\n2020<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2B<\/span><\/td>\nDustin Pedroia<\/span><\/td>\n$2M<\/span><\/td>\nBOS<\/span><\/td>\n2019<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3B<\/span><\/td>\nRyan Braun<\/span><\/td>\n$1.8M<\/span><\/td>\nMIL<\/span><\/td>\n2020<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SS<\/span><\/td>\nDidi Gregorius<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n$500K<\/span><\/td>\nPHI<\/span><\/td>\n2020*<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nBobby Bonilla<\/span><\/td>\n$1.7M<\/span><\/td>\nNYM\/BAL<\/span><\/td>\n2001<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nKen Griffey, Jr.<\/span><\/td>\n$3.6M<\/span><\/td>\nCIN<\/span><\/td>\n2010**<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nMatt Holliday<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n$1.5M<\/span><\/td>\nSTL<\/span><\/td>\n2018<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DH<\/span><\/td>\nManny Ramirez<\/span><\/td>\n$2.1M<\/span><\/td>\nBOS<\/span><\/td>\n2011<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SP<\/span><\/td>\nZack Grienke<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n$12.5M<\/span><\/td>\nHOU<\/span><\/td>\n2023*<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SP<\/span><\/td>\nAdam Wainwright<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n$1M<\/span><\/td>\nSTL<\/span><\/td>\n2023<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SP<\/span><\/td>\nBret Saberhagen<\/span><\/td>\n$250K<\/span><\/td>\nNYM<\/span><\/td>\n2001<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RP<\/span><\/td>\nRafael Soriano<\/span><\/td>\n$2M<\/span><\/td>\nWAS<\/span><\/td>\n2015<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RP<\/span><\/td>\nMark Melancon<\/span><\/td>\n$1M<\/span><\/td>\nSFG<\/span><\/td>\n2022<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RP<\/span><\/td>\nBrad Hand<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n$1.5M<\/span><\/td>\nWAS<\/span><\/td>\n2023*<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nReserves<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
INF<\/span><\/td>\nVinny Castilla<\/span><\/td>\n$105K<\/span><\/td>\nCOL<\/span><\/td>\n2006<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nLorenzo Cain<\/span><\/td>\n$1M<\/span><\/td>\nMIL<\/span><\/td>\n2022<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Bold names<\/strong> are first timers
\n<\/span>*Not technically retired, but no longer on anyone\u2019s roster
\n<\/span>**Junior\u2019s last year of deferred payment, so Lorenzo Cain might actually start next year<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have to stretch as much as I did the year prior, with only Ryan Braun\u2019s limited experience at third really being the only stretch, but as you can see, on a paper, and assuming everyone were in their primes, this is one hell of a formidable roster.\u00a0 The pitching staff got some substantial upgrades this season with the additions of Zack Grienke and Adam Wainwright, as well as a solid lefty in the pen with Brad Hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

But once again, there is no catcher for the team, which goes to show the unforgiving, unglamorous and brutal nature of being a catcher where aside from the tremendous physical demands of the position, nobody wants to pay you exorbitant amounts of money where they want to defer payment.<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t dig too hard, but it doesn\u2019t look like we\u2019re going to see a catcher making any deferred money until 2026, when JT Realmuto<\/strong> will be owed deferred payment from the Phillies, but it likely wont be until 2034 when we have a true catching Bonilla, when Will Smith<\/strong> will begin collecting $5M annual payments from the Dodgers for the next decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

I should also point out that the roster was constructed solely of deferred money players that are no longer active<\/strong> baseball players.\u00a0 If I took into consideration the active players that are double-dipping (or triple) and making money from their current teams on top of their deferred monies, then the roster would\u2019ve looked very different, but I also wouldn\u2019t be able to call them the All-Bonilla team either.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for what it\u2019s worth, here are the active players who are collecting deferred payments this season, in addition to what they\u2019re making as active salaries now:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos.<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nOwed<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nFrom<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nNow<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1B<\/span><\/td>\nJose Abreu<\/span><\/td>\n$1M<\/span><\/td>\nCHW<\/span><\/td>\nHOU<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2B<\/span><\/td>\nKolten Wong<\/span><\/td>\n$2.5M<\/span><\/td>\nMIL<\/span><\/td>\nARI-AAA<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3B<\/span><\/td>\nNolan Arenado<\/span><\/td>\n$2M<\/span><\/td>\nSTL<\/span><\/td>\nSTL<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3B<\/span><\/td>\nJustin Turner<\/span><\/td>\n$2M<\/span><\/td>\nLAD<\/span><\/td>\nTOR<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nGiancarlo Stanton<\/span><\/td>\n$3M<\/span><\/td>\nMIA<\/span><\/td>\nNYY<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OF<\/span><\/td>\nJason Heyward<\/span><\/td>\n$5M<\/span><\/td>\nCHC<\/span><\/td>\nLAD<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SP<\/span><\/td>\nMax Scherzer<\/span><\/td>\n$15M<\/span><\/td>\nWAS<\/span><\/td>\nTEX<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SP<\/span><\/td>\nAlex Cobb<\/span><\/td>\n$4.5M<\/span><\/td>\nBAL<\/span><\/td>\nSFG<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RP<\/span><\/td>\nLiam Hendriks<\/span><\/td>\n$1.5M<\/span><\/td>\nCHW<\/span><\/td>\nBOS<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Now these guys are the true MVPs of collecting checks, as all of them are still currently playing, and are getting multiple paychecks this season, but there\u2019s still some interesting stories here:<\/span><\/p>\n