Mellinger: Time is now for Glass to increase Royals’ payroll

Dayton Moore needs the resources to be able to go out and get more Jeff Francoeurs!

The days of Glass crying poverty need to be over. The no-money Rays just signed Evan Longoria to a $100 million extension, nearly twice as much as the Royals have ever guaranteed a player. Teams in similar markets — Cleveland, Cincinnati, Minnesota, etc. — extend payrolls past $80 million for the right situation. The Royals are now in the right situation.

They’ve gone this high or higher before, and with a less realistic chance of winning. That was before a new national TV contract that makes every team richer — a $75 million payroll would’ve ranked 19th in baseball in 2010; last year it would’ve been 24th.

Baseball’s economics — particularly the bad local TV contract the Royals willingly entered — are still tilted toward bigger markets, but Glass doesn’t have to take a big loss to build a legitimate contender.

The Royals had baseball’s lowest payroll in 2011, which was the smart baseball play as they fielded 16 rookies. Also, Gil Meche walked away from the last $12 million of his contract.

But the franchise has also made more than $90 million profit since 2006, according to Forbes. Especially with new baseball restrictions on amateur spending, Glass and the Royals have saved more than enough the last few years to extend the payroll to at least $75 million and as much as $80 million.