2007 Phillies (As of 1/16)

An unannounced (and quite frankly unplanned) month off from the site did me some good. That said, it’s nice to be back and hopefully posting will resume on at least a semi-regular schedule for the foreseeable future. Without further ado, here's a quick look at the 2007 Phillies as currently assembled (salary figures in parentheses are arbitration estimates and ages are as of August 1, 2007):

Catchers:

Rod Barajas – (C) – Age 31 – 2.500 million
Carlos Ruiz – (C) – Age 27 – 0.380 million
Chris Coste – (C/1B/3B) – Age 34 – 0.380 million

Infielders:

Ryan Howard – (1B) – Age 27 – (.500 million)
Chase Utley – (2B) – Age 28 – (4.500 million)
Jimmy Rollins – (SS) – Age 28 – 8.000 million
Wes Helms – (3B) – Age 31 – 2.550 million (includes .500 million signing bonus)
Abraham Nunez – (IF) – Age 31 – 2.100 million

Outfielders:

Pat Burrell – (LF) – Age 30 – 13.000 million
Aaron Rowand – (CF) – Age 29 – 4.350 million
Shane Victorino – (RF) – Age 26 – 0.380 million
Jayson Werth – (OF) – Age 28 – 0.850 million (extra .150 million in incentives)

Starting Pitchers:

Brett Myers – (SP) – Age 26 – (5.000 million)
Freddy Garcia – (SP) – Age 31 – 10.000 million
Cole Hamels – (SP) – Age 23 – 0.380 million
Adam Eaton – (SP) – Age 29 – 7.875 million (includes 1.000 million signing bonus, can earn .250 each for 200 and 220 IP)
Jamie Moyer – (SP) – Age 44 – 7.000 million (includes 1.000 million signing bonus)
Jon Lieber – (SP) – Age 37 – 7.500 million

Relief Pitchers:

Tom Gordon – (RP) – Age 39 – 7.000 million
Antonio Alfonseca – (RP) – Age 35 – 0.550 million (extra .550 in incentives)
Ryan Madson – (RP) – Age 26 – 1.100 million
Geoff Geary – (RP) – Age 30 – (1.200 million)
Matt Smith – (RP) – Age 28 – 0.380 million

What does it all mean from a roster construction/dollars and cents standpoint? The roster as currently stands includes the above 23 players at a cost of 87.475 million dollars. The Phillies owe Jim Thome 5.500 million dollars, thus pushing the total payroll cost to 92.625 million bucks. The roster as currently composed has a need of one outfielder and two relief pitchers; it also has a surplus of one starting pitcher. How these needs will be meet (and, perhaps more importantly, how the surplus of starting pitching is dealt with) should make for an interesting topic of discussion as spring training approaches.