Today Maury Brown put an article out at Forbes that
illustrated some of the economic impact across baseball in relation to a
pandemic shortened 2020 season. While the league as a whole spent roughly $2.5B
less on salaries, the per game adjustments note a step forward. The Twins can
and need to afford a similar path in the year ahead.
In 2019 $2,472,194,292 more dollars were spent on payrolls
across baseball. Obviously, there were also 102 more games played that season.
Adjusting the calendar to be in line with what we experienced during 2020
however, a 12% increase in player salaries would’ve been realized.
On the Twins front, Minnesota paid out $52,627,942 in
salaries during the 2020 season. That was good enough for 19th in
baseball. They paid a total of $125,205,980 in 2019, and that comes out to an
adjusted amount of $46,372,585. It makes sense that the Pohlad family would
push more finances into roster construction during an open window and following
a length period of cost savings, but it’s glad to see that come to fruition.
After going big on Josh Donaldson to the tune of a four-year
deal worth at least $100 million, Minnesota again finds themselves in a
position to spend. Although payroll positioning isn’t indicative of talent of
future finish (just ask the Tampa Bay Rays), stockpiling more assets is hardly
a bad practice. Coming off a second straight AL Central division title and
looking to supplement an already strong core around a star like Donaldson,
another step up makes plenty of sense.
Despite the down revenues for the league as a whole in 2020,
the reality is that Scott Boras’ assessment is likely factual. Teams didn’t
actually lose money as much as they simply didn’t take in typical profits.
Coming off years of record growth financially however, that should hardly be
the sole motivator, and especially not for organizations in the midst of prime
competitive windows.
Minnesota has a respectable farm system and one that has both
established depth while harboring some very high projected prospects at the
top. Even Royce Lewis though shouldn’t be considered a cornerstone on a Major
League team for the next one or two seasons. That’s a point in which most of
the Twins core is looking into their 30’s while the big contract for Donaldson
is a year from lapsing. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine can’t throw caution to the
wind, but they’ve built a sustained winner, and now is time to continue adding
pieces.
There have been rumblings about what the Twins plan to do at
the shortstop position, and there’s no doubt they have holes in the starting
rotation as it would currently be constructed. Minnesota is never going to be
able to compete with big market clubs purely from an enticement factor but
saving dollars doesn’t make much sense given the state of the competitive opportunity
and the challenge Chicago will certainly present.
It’s good to see that even in a year with decreased revenues
and unprecedented hurdles the Twins stepped up on the bottom line. Now they
need to continue to weather the storm and do it again for 2021.
