Salary details for Jed Lowrie and Stephen Vogt contracts
Salaries reported for the A’s newest signings
The Oakland A’s brought back a couple of longtime favorites last week. They reunited with catcher Stephen Vogt after several years apart, and then they re-signed professional hitter Jed Lowrie from last summer’s team.
Both veterans netted MLB contracts, effectively guaranteeing them spots on the Opening Day roster, but their salaries weren’t immediately reported. Now those blanks have been filled in, by MLB insider Jon Heyman on Monday.
Per Heyman, here are the terms of Vogt’s deal:
• $850,000
• Plus: $100,000 for 60 days on active 26-man roster
• Plus: $150,000 if traded (one time)
And the details for Lowrie:
• $850,000
• Signing Bonus - $150,000
• $700,000 - 2022
• Plus: $100,000 for 60 day on active Major League roster.
• Plus: $150,000 if traded (one time)
Those may as well be carbon copies from a roster standpoint. We’re not really keeping an eye on the team’s Competitive Balance Tax cap, so I’m not sure the signing bonus split of Lowrie’s payout matters to fans keeping track of the payroll.
The MLB minimum salary rose to $700,000 this year, so both players are scheduled to make slightly over that. They can push up further to $950,000 apiece by staying healthy for at least a couple months.
The A’s currently have 11 players under contract for a total of just under $50 million, with everybody else being pre-arbitration and earning roughly league minimum.
- SS Elvis Andrus – $14.25m
- LHP Sean Manaea – $9.75m
- OF Stephen Piscotty – $7.58m
- RHP Frankie Montas – $5.025m
- RHP Lou Trivino – $3.0m
- OF Ramon Laureano – $2.45m
- UT Chad Pinder – $2.725m
- 2B Tony Kemp – $2.25m
- IF Jed Lowrie – $0.85m
- C Stephen Vogt – $0.85m
- RHP Deolis Guerra – $0.815m
That adds up to $49.545 million. They also owe $750K for an option buyout on Jake Diekman, and $500K for the same with Andrew Chafin. On the other hand, they are getting back $7.25 million from the Rangers as part of the deal to acquire Andrus, which helps offset half of his lofty salary.
Put all that together and they’re at $43.545. Fill in the final 15 spots with minimum salaries ($10.5 million altogether), and the 26-man payroll should be around $54 million as things currently stand, until or unless any new players are signed or acquired.