As of now, the preliminary 2009 payroll is at $55,683,100.  That includes the following eight players who are under contract:  Philip Humber ($550,000), Joe Nathan ($11,250,000), Jesse Crain ($1,700,000), Joe Mauer ($10,500,000), Mike Redmond ($950,000), Justin Morneau ($10,600,000), Nick Punto ($4,000,000) and Michael Cuddyer ($6,750,000). 

The above number also includes seventeen other players that are on the 40-man roster and are likely to be with the Twins, including two pitchers, Bonser and Rule V pickup Jason Jones, who are out of options and will likely battle Humber for one spot in the bullpen.  All seventeen are included at their 2008 base annual salaries: Scott Baker ($422,500), Kevin Slowey ($395,000), Francisco Liriano ($410,000), Nick Blackburn ($390,000), Glen Perkins ($390,000), Boof Bonser ($432,500), Matt Guerrier ($950,000), Pat Neshek ($435,000), Craig Breslow ($392,000), Alexi Casilla ($390,000), Matt Tolbert ($390,000), Brian Buscher ($390,000), Brendan Harris ($431,100), Jason Kubel ($1,300,000), Delman Young ($700,000), Carlos Gomez ($395,000) and Denard Span ($390,000). 

Also included are two players, Jose Mijares who will most likely be with the Club, and Jason Jones, who will battle Bonser and Humber for one or two spots in the bullpen.  Mijares and Jones are both included in the $55,683,100 total at the minimum of $390,000.

Ten of the above players (Slowey, Blackburn, Perkins, Breslow, Casilla, Tolbert, Buscher, Harris, Gomez and Span) will get minimal raises...say averaging $25,000 each.  This will add an additional $250,000 to the total.  Delmon Young is likely to get a larger raise, say $100,000.  Two (Liriano and Baker) will likely get larger raises than the above ten, say $50,000 each for another $100,000. 

That brings the total payroll to an estimated $56,183,100 and includes everyone at 2009 payroll levels except the two players who are arbitration eligible, Kubel and Guerrier, who are included at their 2008 salaries.  I expect the Twins are looking to work out three or four year contracts with each and should they spend an additonal $3,000,000 on the two in 2009, their total payroll would be just over $59,000,000, not including incentives that could total as much as another $500,000+/-. 

It also does not include any salaries paid to minor league callups.  However, with 27 players included in this estimate there is one extra player (Neshek will go on the 60-day disabled list at the end of spring training) so that amount shouldn't be over a half million depending upon injuries.  As I see it, their current payroll is going to be about $60,000,000 assuming they spend total compensation of about $5,250,000 on Kubel and Guerrier in 2009 (The $2,250,000 they received in 2008 plus an additional $3,000,000).  This should allow them to sign Kubel to a three or four year deal that is a bit front loaded as they did last year with Nathan, Cuddyer and Morneau. 

With a budget around $60,000,000 and many sources indicating that they could get closer to the $71,000,000 they spent in 2007, the Twins do have room to add one or two players that they need either through free-agency or a trade.  All indications are that it would be a short reliever and third baseman.