It turns out this was yet another good week to have life collide with having no bigger topics I wanted to cover, as I underwent my first ever surgery.
While I can no longer help repopulate the earth in a few years when the Water Wars hit, I can still cover payroll.
Next week I plan on examining players who used options in 2022, but for now, I’ll give a brief recap of transactions for the week and their payroll implications, as there really wasn’t a lot to cover.
Pirates Payroll Updates
—The Tampa Bay Rays claimed Bligh Madris off waivers, saving the Pittsburgh Pirates $11,912 for the rest of the season.
While it keeps me from typing “Blight” into perpetuity, Madris already started off his Rays’ career with a bang, because of course he did:
A go-ahead 3-run homer with a 2-2 count, 2 outs & down by 2 in the 8th?
That's pretty fly for @Bligh_Guy
In his 1st game with the Bulls, Bligh Madris' CLUTCH homer led us to a big win! pic.twitter.com/Hvd4Sf9O7L
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) September 18, 2022
—Dillon Peters was outrighted to Indianapolis, and with an estimated split of $129,063, payroll goes down $54,730.
Having been outrighted twice in his career, he can now elect free agency after the season, before he would have been a minor league free agent anyway.
— Despite all the brouhaha, it seems Luis Ortiz could still come back as an injury replacement, as he did just that when JT Brubaker went on the 15-day IL.
It’s interesting, if only because he was called up before his start, which never happens. I’m sure it was because he couldn’t have come back up otherwise, while placing Brubaker on the IL early enough technically gives him a chance to pitch again before the season ends.
Payroll went up $57,946, while this recall should keep Ortiz from using an option for 2022.
—Finally, Tyler Beede was outrighted to Indianapolis on the final day of his designation period, at least according to the transaction log. With an estimated split of $264,652, payroll goes down $33,239.
Beede was active Thursday for Indianapolis, which is also apparently the day of his outright assignment. It’s my understanding that players get service and pay through the assignment, which in theory would mean that would be for Thursday while Beede was active. It makes me wonder if the date of the outright is correct, or if the rules are different than my understanding in this case.
—Payroll stands at $60,806,690 for the Labor Relations Department, while it’s $73,840,940 for CBT purposes.
