Jessica Fletcher - contributing reporter
It's only been a few days, but let's check in on those payrolls and budgets. We've hit the last day of Arbitration and moving towards Free Agency. Our top 5 big spenders are:
- New Orleans Smell - $122.3M
- Pittsburgh Yinzers - $110.6M
- San Juan Fudds - $106M
- Santa Fe Surf Riders VIII - $101.3M
- Oklahoma City Barons - $99M
Yup, that's 3 of the 4 NL South teams within the top 4 of that list. Austin, the 4th member of the division, ranks in at 7th highest. Our bottom 5 spenders include:
- Tokyo Nomo - $17.6M (Saving money to rewrite the Mr. Roboto song to: Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto, nomo, nomo)
- Tacoma Aroma - $20.5M (I can smell the IFA spending now)
- Mexico City Staring Frogs - $21.5M (DNA testing to recreate dinosaurs. YES!)
- Augusta Alcoholics - $22.3M (no comment on what they are saving for)
- Montreal Fighting Poutine Plates - $27.6M (must be saving money to improve their recipe)
Here's a look at the payrolls post-arbitration, listed by current payroll. Includes budget space remaining and how much they have remaining for payroll. Could be spent on free agents / IFAs / slush funds / ponzi schemes / Tim Horton's donuts; we know which one Vancouver will be spending on.
