The MLB currently has a large gap between spending limits on each team. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring after the 2026 season, having a salary cap is something both the players and owners need to agree on.
According to Fangraphs, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have a payroll of $386 million, while the Chicago White Sox will have a payroll of $67 million. This offseason, the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker to a contract giving him $60 million a year, so one player’s payroll is almost the same as one whole team. You can’t blame teams like the Dodgers for spending money to make their team good, but the league has to find a way to at least balance payrolls.
A lot of people blame owners for not spending more money, but some owners don’t have as much as others. The Miami Marlins are 29th in payroll at $69 million, and their owner Bruce Sherman has a net worth around $500 million. The New York Mets are second in payroll at $365 million, and their owner Steve Cohen has a net worth of over $21 billion.
Although the MLB has a luxury tax for spending more than the threshold, it is still not enough to give the bottom teams in payroll from competing with the teams at the top.
Jeff Passan, an MLB analyst for ESPN wrote an article about how the National League Championship Series (NLCS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers would have a big emphasis on salary cap. If the Dodgers win, it would show that small market teams don’t have much of a chance, but if the Brewers win, it will show that small market teams can compete at the highest level.
Although the Brewers had the coach of the year, the most regular season wins and a good all around roster, they got swept in the four game series. The Dodgers four starters who make $25 million more than the entire Brewers 26 man roster shut the Brewers down in all four games. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, another team with plenty of money.
To show how different their off-seasons have been, the Dodgers, who had a bit of a bullpen problem last year, signed the best closer on the market in Edwin Diaz to a three year $69 million contract. Additionally, they got the best free agent on the market in Kyle Tucker to a four year $240 million contract. The Dodgers had a great team last year and this offseason they made them even better.
The Brewers offseason has been very different from the Dodgers. Brandon Woodruff accepted his qualifying offer and Milwaukee signed Akil Baddoo to a one year, $1.25 million contract. The Brewers also had to trade away superstar ace, Freddy Peralta, since they weren’t going to extend his contract after it expires next year. However, they got some good prospects in return. This isn’t the first time the Brewers have made a trade like this, including losing superstars Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader, and Devin Williams before their contract is up to get prospects in return.
There is clearly a big difference between teams going out and spending big money on good players, versus teams who develop good players into great ones, then, trade those great players away to get good players to develop.
You can’t be mad at teams who have the money to go out and build a team full of all stars, but bringing in a salary cap to make spending closer is essential to maintaining balance. The cap should not make it 100% even, but if an agreement is reached between coaches and players this next offseason, the game can be more intense at every level.
