A Payroll Update For The Upcoming Offseason

Now a week removed from that disappointment of an ALCS, I find myself slowly recovering from an abrupt end for the Astros. I needed a few days to digest what I just watched, specifically the letdown from that high following Game 5 to contemplating why I even follow baseball once Game 7 finished. As much as I think about baseball in terms of numbers and trends, the emotional ties to this club dating back to childhood are never fully abandoned. Except for two exceptions, every October/November — early or late — always ends with some sense of mourning.

But even with the World Series raging on, the baseball world doesn’t stop. In the week since Cristian Javier lasted only 1⁄3 of an inning in a…