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Pittsburgh Pirates Offseason: Payroll Flexibility

By David Slusser

Sep 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington (left) talks with Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington (right) on the field before the Pirates host the Red Sox at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington (left) talks with Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington (right) on the field before the Pirates host the Red Sox at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Past Opening Day Payroll’s

The Pirates opening day payroll has gone up every season except for 2009 to 2010, using Cot’s Baseball Contracts. But some of those years are rebuild years, so giving a look at 2010 through now is what is really important. The opening day payrolls for those years are as followed:

  1. 2010:  $39,068,000
  2. 2011:  $42,047,000
  3. 2012:  $51,932,333
  4. 2013:  $66,805,000
  5. 2014:  $71,929,333
  6. 2015:  $90,053,000
  7. 2016:  $99,945,500

The amount of by how much each year is increased is what is important though when going forward. Those differences are:

  1. 2010-11:  $2,979,000
  2. 2011-12:  $9,885,333
  3. 2012-13:  $14,872,667
  4. 2013-14:  $5,124,333
  5. 2014-15:  $18,123,667
  6. 2015-16:  $9,892,500

To avoid skewness, finding the median instead of the mean is important. The median increase since 2010 has been  $9,888,916.50. In this case, the mean works as well, and has a value of  $10,146,250. What we can expect is about a $10 million increase in opening day payrolls each year, some years less, and some years more, but $10 million is expected. With the Pirates decrease in about 250,000, less should be expected, but at the same time the Liriano deal and increase from national TV, $10 million is still the target.

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