The New York Yankees are
on track to open the season this week with baseball's seventh-highest
payroll, their lowest ranking since 1992.
The Boston Red Sox will top the major leagues at about $223 million, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers' four-year run as the top spender. San Francisco will be second at around $203 million, and the Chicago Cubs are set to be third at about $183 million.
The Dodgers and Washington Nationals will each be at approximately $180 million, and the Los Angeles Angels will be next at about $170 million. The Yankees will be at around $167 million — their lowest payroll since 2003.
Most of these teams were at the top last year on the big spender list. So much so that most of the teams did not add very much "new" payroll above last year's total.
With the luxury tax at $197 million, the Red Sox and Giants are going to get hit with a surcharge (and be really hurt in 2019 if they are over the amount for a second year in a row). The Cubs, Dodgers and Nationals have only a marginal threshold to stay under the cap. Barring a significant injury, these clubs will stand pat during the season.
The Yankees are interesting because they have room to sign a valuable free agent left on the board (Greg Holland?) if the need arises in the near future. The Yankees lineup is powerful, even with the Bird injury. Even so, the prospect of the Yankees having $36 million more to spend in 2019 when Bryce Harper hits the open market will be a story line for this year.
Baseball has developed a harsh bell curve in salary structures. As the big teams continue to spend, the small market teams seem to have contracted their payrolls to the point where the union is crying foul. The Rays, Pirates and Marlins have been giving away veteran players in exchange for "controllable" year prospects (at major league minimum salaries.) The concept of the tear down rebuild has worked for the last two World Series champions, so the union cannot claim that that business model is flawed. However, the Marlins and Rays seem to be in perpetual rebuild mode.
The Boston Red Sox will top the major leagues at about $223 million, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers' four-year run as the top spender. San Francisco will be second at around $203 million, and the Chicago Cubs are set to be third at about $183 million.
The Dodgers and Washington Nationals will each be at approximately $180 million, and the Los Angeles Angels will be next at about $170 million. The Yankees will be at around $167 million — their lowest payroll since 2003.
Most of these teams were at the top last year on the big spender list. So much so that most of the teams did not add very much "new" payroll above last year's total.
With the luxury tax at $197 million, the Red Sox and Giants are going to get hit with a surcharge (and be really hurt in 2019 if they are over the amount for a second year in a row). The Cubs, Dodgers and Nationals have only a marginal threshold to stay under the cap. Barring a significant injury, these clubs will stand pat during the season.
The Yankees are interesting because they have room to sign a valuable free agent left on the board (Greg Holland?) if the need arises in the near future. The Yankees lineup is powerful, even with the Bird injury. Even so, the prospect of the Yankees having $36 million more to spend in 2019 when Bryce Harper hits the open market will be a story line for this year.
Baseball has developed a harsh bell curve in salary structures. As the big teams continue to spend, the small market teams seem to have contracted their payrolls to the point where the union is crying foul. The Rays, Pirates and Marlins have been giving away veteran players in exchange for "controllable" year prospects (at major league minimum salaries.) The concept of the tear down rebuild has worked for the last two World Series champions, so the union cannot claim that that business model is flawed. However, the Marlins and Rays seem to be in perpetual rebuild mode.
