Why Steven Beitashour is a great signing

Steven Beitashour made all of $49,612.50 last season playing for San Jose. He is set to make a sight more than that in 2014 playing for the Whitecaps ("upwards of $200k", says MLS writer Ben Jata), and deservedly so.

Some people are questioning that amount, and in a salary cap league, all salaries should be judged on their value (though not necessarily on their replacement cost - the contract/trading system in MLS renders that difficult at best). So let's take a look at what the value of a good right back is in MLS. Or rather, in the Western Conference, because it's easier, quicker, and within my realm of knowledge.

Team	Player	Games	Minutes	G	A	Salary
CR	Marvell Wynne	28	2315	0	2	285,000.00
LA	Sean Franklin	33	2736	1	4	248,333.33
VW	YP Lee	32	2747	0	6	231,100.00
PT	Jack Jewsbury	26	2240	0	1	194,750.00
RSL	Tony Beltran	25	2230	0	1	166,800.00
FCD	Zach Loyd	25	2132	0	0	136,997.50
CHV	Mario de Luna	30	2637	1	0	120,000.00
SS	DeAndre Yedlin	31	2710	1	2	53,500.00
SJ	Beitashour	27	2426	1	3	49,612.50

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Notes:

1. Salary is the guaranteed salary as published by the MLS Players Union. 
2. I apologize for relying on goals and assists, but it's the most accessible data.
3. Kellyn Acosta took over for Zach Loyd in Dallas, but Loyd had twice the starts on the season.

So a fairly wide range of salaries for starting right backs, but in general those are likely a higher wages than many people would guess at. Basic conclusion seems to be that a good starting right back in this league is going to cost you $150-250k, and the player acquisition mechanisms and restrictions mean you'll likely have to overpay (one way or another) to get one in the first place.

What jumps out at me when looking at that list is that the quality of fullbacks in this league is not that high. Is Beitashour one of the best right backs in MLS? Well, yes, but that's mostly because there isn't a ton of quality in the league. He's certainly very good at this level.

Beltran is the best of the group, and deserves a higher salary. Both Beltran and Beitashour are solid, very good players, nothing too spectacular, but smart, organized, athletic, etc. Franklin is a little flashier at times, but I rarely notice him when I watch LA - I wondered at his salary when I first noticed it last season, and LA was probably smart to let him go. Yedlin shows promise, and in a couple years I think he'll be the best right back in the league. Expect him to get a significant raise soon.

Lee was a joy to watch in 2012, but his drop-off in 2013 was significant. Jewsbury is not a natural right back, but is smart and effective, and knows his limitations. De Luna, we barely knew ye... Wynne has has phenomenal recovery speed, but $285k for a fullback with questionable ball skills is a really poor use of cap space. Kellyn Acosta will be one to watch in Dallas - he's just 18, and I think won the starting job from Loyd on merit.

Clearly Beitashour was being criminally underpaid. What's interesting is that apparently San Jose tried to renegotiate his salary up but he wouldn't. And now he's getting a huge pay raise. The Whitecaps will pay somewhere in that $150-200k range, and all of a sudden a ridiculous off-season doesn't look so bad.

UPDATE: If you haven't yet, go read Ben Massey's comprehensive look at Beitashour's career so far:

http://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2014/01/29/those-steven-beitashour-statistics-in-full/

Whitecaps roster - 2014 salary cap edition

Name	Salary counts	2013 cap hit	2014 cap hit
Signed
Sam Adekugbe	no	51,500.00	51,500.00
Bryce Alderson	no	80,000.00	80,000.00
Caleb Clarke	no	46,500.00	46,500.00
Russell Teibert	no	65,600.00	65,600.00
Omar Salgado	no	136,868.67	136,868.67
Kekuta Manneh	no	84,500.00	84,500.00
Jay DeMerit	yes	375,000.00	325,000.00
Jordan Harvey	yes	112,500.00	112,500.00
Eric Hurtado	yes	81,500.00	81,500.00
Gershon Koffie	yes	176,000.00	176,000.00
Matt Watson	yes	79,251.98	79,251.98
Aminu Abdallah	yes	46,500.00	46,500.00
Johnny Leveron	yes	71,187.50	71,187.50
Darren Mattocks	yes	212,000.00	212,000.00
Carlyle Mitchell	yes	46,500.00	60,000.00
Andy O'Brien	yes	230,012.04	230,012.04
David Ousted	yes	166,156.25	200,000.00
Kenny Miller	yes	387,000.00	195,000.00
Nigel Reo-Coker	yes	237,362.50	387,000.00
		Total	2,175,951.52
Unsigned
Creative mid	yes		387,000.00
Starting RB	yes		150,000.00
Back-up RB	yes		60,000.00
Back-up GK	yes		70,000.00
Mehdi Ballouchy	yes	152,006.00	80,000.00
Andre Lewis	yes		80,000.00
Mamadou Diouf	yes		80,000.00
		Total	907,000.00
		Grand total	3,082,951.52
Christian Dean	no		100,000.00
Marco Carducci	no		35,000.00
Ben Fisk	no		60,000.00
Marco Bustos	no		46,500.00
Kianz Froese	no		46,500.00
Jackson Farmer	no		70,000.00

Here are my estimates for the Whitecaps' salary cap situation, as it stands on January 20. For updates, check out new posts on Two Fat Bastards.

1. The MLS salary cap for 2014 will be somewhere close to $3.097 million. 
2. If I haven't heard or thought differently, I have carried 2013 salaries over to 2014. There are some exceptions. I am considering building in a 2-5% raise for everyone. 
3. The table wouldn't fit further squad info that would explain why players are or aren't on the cap - suffice it to say that I think I'm pretty solid there. GA, homegrown, salary amounts, etc. 
4. I've guessed at DeMerit's salary based on a few things - it's much higher than other estimates I've seen ($200k, etc). I'd be willing to wager that he hasn't taken much of a pay cut.
5. Kenny Miller's amount is for a half-season as a DP. That could change quickly - so much depends on whether he'll be heading back to Scotland/Europe in the summer transfer window.
6. I've generously given our unsigned midfield playmaker a DP salary. Here's hoping we find someone whose skills demand it.
7. The amounts for the unsigned players are obviously estimates, but I've looked at a lot of salaries in the league for most positions, and I think I'm pretty solid there. We could pay more for a starting right back. If we pay more for a back-up keeper we're foolish.
8. The Homegrown Generation Adidas situation is not clear at all right now. We have no idea if Teibert remains a homegrown, if players ever transition to normal from homegrown, and so far it's unclear how much salary teams are allowed to allocate to Homegrown GA players above the league minimum before it counts against the cap. Yay MLS. 
9. I expect we'll see some signed players leave before the March 1 roster deadline - if I was a betting man, I would guess Abdallah won't be here, maybe Hurtado, maybe one CB.