Eli Cash - contributing reporter
Alright Hardball Stitches fans, as we near the Arbitration deadline. Every case has already been resolved but we still have plenty of movement on the trade market. Let's pause and take a quick look at some different budget numbers. We'll look at Free Agent budget remaining, possible IFA spending, and Future Commitments; which will typically be covered in our On The Books series.
First we'll tackle the upcoming Free Agent market. Now being our first season it's not always easy to tell, but we have indicators of who will be looking at the International market as well. At the top of the list is Salt Lake City being able to afford nearly two max deals; and given their minimum prospect budget - I fully expect them to go hard in Free Agency. There are 9 other teams who can still afford a max deal and it's widely assumed that Koji Katou will get just that as the top name on the market. The home town favorite Indianapolis might just have the edge on everyone there. But which pitcher gets the money - will it be Louie Vizquel or Javier Nieves; both of whom will give Montgomery a Type A pick. With the control issues of many other "top" arms, keep an eye on Anthony Crow as a contender to get paid. Texas currently has the least amount of wiggle room with just $4.3M left to spend. Tacoma is not far behind them; but having been late to the waiving party - they expect to clear some budgets off their books as well.
