Stu Sternberg has given me a $110M payroll limit for 2023, and that will be more than enough considering the current state of our salaries:
This group (plus everyone who's projected to make the minimum) comes in at $67.7 and we're going to shave $14M off that by dealing Whit Merrifield and Yandy Diaz and non-tendering Ryan Yarbrough. That will drop the payroll to $53-54M and give us plenty of money to address our needs at catcher with Zunino gone and a power-hitting bat (preferably RH) to play either 1B, RF or DH.
Also here are our top prospects:
Wander (SS), B.Lowe (2B), and Arozarena (LF) are set (the latter two need to regress positively), although if I can add a better-fielding SS I could move Wander to third. Other positions:
C-Need a solid vet here, may make a free agent move for someone like Christian Vazquez if the price and term aren't ridiculous. Rene Pinto looks like the backup as he's a better fielder than Francisco Mejia and almost as good a hitter.
1B-I want to give first crack here to Curtis Mead, who as you can see from above had a great season at Durham even if he isn't the prototypical slugging first-sacker. He had 5.2 WAR at Durham but if he can give me 3 in the bigs next year I'll be happy. Lars Nootbaar is also a possibility here, maybe Alec Bohm will hit given another chance.
3B-Abraham Toro is the front-runner for now, he's as good as Yandy but if I an can upgrade here through an acquisition or moving Wander here, I will.
CF-Josh Lowe is the front-runner, and I hope he can put it together and stay healthy. Estuery Ruiz factors in here as well.
RF-Nootbaar could go here, so could Ruiz, and Kameron Misner (see above among prospects) could figure in as well, although I might go outside the org for someone with more impact.
DH-Again this could be an acquisition, it could be Bohm/Nootbaar, it could be a slot I just rotate people through.
Bench: Taylor Walls likely returns as the IF backup although he'll have to hold off Vidal Brujan. Neither has proven they can hit at the MLB level despite their speed and versatility.
As it stands now the offense is functional and has potential to be at least league-average, but it needs to be better than last year and that's where the attention is going to be paid. I'd like to have a decent offense without bringing in one rental after another like we did with Bell, Brantley and Merrifield this year.
Little attention needs to be paid to the pitching side of things as we welcome Tyler Glasnow back to a staff that was one of the league's best. The rotation of Glasnow, Rasmussen, McClanahan, Baz and Patino is the envy of most of MLB and Yonny Chirinos is ready to step in after doing very well after returning from injury in the second half. The pen is deep as well even if we don't have the classic lockdown closer as everyone returns and we possibly get full seasons from Nick Anderson and Pete Fairbanks. Youngster Chris Gau should have a role after rocketing through the system last year, and Forrest Whitley is a wild card who'll be in the pen if he makes the team.