Tampa Bay Rays expect lower payroll in 2015
By Hayden Kane
The Tampa Bay Rays have put together a number of seasons in which they spent very little money and were still a playoff team. That has made 2014 an odd exception, as they have spent more money than usual and find themselves well out of postseason contention.
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Spending has been robust by Tampa Bay’s standards this year, with their payroll creeping up towards $80 million. With this team coming up short in the standings, it looks like payroll will be back down once again next season.
Team owner Stuart Sternberg confirmed as much this week (from the Tampa Bay Times):
"Sternberg said the 2015 payroll is “clearly going to be lower” than this year’s franchise-record $80 million, and he pointed out — albeit a small sample size — that they have had the most success when they have spent least."
Steinberg then went on and said that the Rays have failed to make the playoffs the two seasons that they did spend money:
"“We’ve run payroll into the ($40 million range) and gotten into the World Series and well into the playoffs, and our two highest payrolls … the years we stepped it up (percentage-wise) were 2009 and 2014, and those are the only two years we haven’t played significant September baseball. That doesn’t mean you’re not going to go at it again if you can, but we spent some money on a couple of big signings, for us at least. It still comes down to performance for all 30-35 guys at least.”"
That logic won’t hold up over the long haul, and it certainly doesn’t mean that the Rays should never spend money again. But in the short term, expect another skinny season in terms of spending from Tampa Bay in 2015.
Stay tuned to FanSided for all of the latest news, rumors, and analysis for Major League Baseball as the season races towards the postseason and the hot stove this off-season.