Salary Minimums

[kckolbe]

Here is a breakdown of the PBE Salary Cap method. Naturally, PBE is a different animal in multiple ways, but hopefully this will reassure anyone worried that re-doing the cap isn't something that can be done responsibly.

Hey folks, we've had our first update of the regular season, so it is time to calculate next year's cap! Last year, this process took a while, and by the time it was formally announced, all the GMs knew what it was because it had been just sitting in a thread abandoned due to lack of interest, receiving neither votes for nor against. However, now that the method for determining the cap has been approved, I will share it with you in a tediously long announcement.

To keep things simple, and account for the large number of players playing out of position, I divided players into groups of catcher, infield, outfield, and pitcher. I used the TPE indicated in rosters AFTER the first season update.

For all veterans, I used minimum salary times 1.5 to determine their value. For all players on rookie contracts (those drafted S3 or S4), I used a flat 3.5 million. Both amounts vary heavily player to player and likely season to season, but seemed reasonable amounts.

For Catcher, each team needs 2, a main and a backup. So, I took the top 12 (leaving very little behind), from Toshihiro Ishikawa to Mike Paolino. Their required salaries for veterans was 26.625 million, plus 10.5 million for rookie contracts.

Next, I looked at the rest of the infield. There are 4 IF positions and 6 teams, so I took the top 24, from Julian O'Sullivan to Dongus Dio (fun fact, those were the #1 and #24 last year as well). There is a LOT of talent there, with required salaries of 151.5 million for vets, and 3.5 million for rookies (Dio being the only player on a rookie contract in the top 24).

Then I looked at outfield. 3 positions, 6 teams, the top 18 from Kevin Biggio to Hawk Russell require 88.5 million for vets and 14 million for rookies.

That only left Designated Hitter. I took all the players not already counted above and took the top 6, from Ty Justice to Dirty Dongs. Naturally, they were less expensive, and only required 10.5 million for vets and 3.5 million for rookies (the same amount as last season).

Lastly, and most significantly, pitchers. Since so many SPs are in an RP role, I combined pitchers into one group and took the top 54 (4 SP and 5 RP per team). The top 54, ranging from Victoria Secret to Brandon Adams, required 172.125 million for vets and 49 million for rookies.

I also allowed for each team to have 2 spots for developing talent and/or platoon hitters. I took all players not currently on the list and selected the top 12, from Willie Mayes Hays to Ollie Daniels. This required 6.75 million for vets and 10.5 million for rookies. This was the only category to actually become cheaper this season, with many in this category having been on rookie contracts last season.

C: 26.5/10.5
IF: 151.5/3.5
OF: 88.5/14
DH: 10.5/3.5
P: 172.125/49
Dev: 6.75/10.5

That totals 546.875 million. Finally, dividing that by the number of teams and rounding down to the nearest tenth of a million...

91.1 million!