MLB commissioner Rob Manfred discusses competitive balance and the impact of payroll disparities in the league Tuesday at Cactus League Media Day. (Photo by Giuliano Moller/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – Less than 200 days after hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are again dominating the conversation.
On Tuesday, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed competitive balance and payroll disparity as important issues in the league. He hesitated to confirm whether salary cap will be on the agenda when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2026.
The gap between the Dodgers’ 2025 competitive balance tax and that of the Miami Marlins is about $327 million, according to Spotrac.
This offseason alone, the Dodgers guaranteed over $400 million to free agents, including Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Hyeseong Kim and Tanner Scott. This comes a year after L.A. signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year $700 million contract and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year $325 million contract.
“The Dodgers have gone out and done everything possible – always within the rules that currently exist – to put the best possible team on the field and I think that’s a great thing for the game,” Manfred said.
The Dodgers incorporated deferred money into many of their contracts. Ohtani’s deal includes $680 million deferred, allowing L.A. to pay him just $2 million a year and spend more money on other stars.
“They’re doing what the system allows. If I’m going to be critical of something it’s not going to be the Dodgers, it’s going to be the system,” Manfred said.
Hal Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, said earlier this month it’s “difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing.” That’s a bold statement considering the Yankees have a history of setting records for payroll.
“It’s clear that we have fans in some markets that are concerned about the ability of the team in their market to compete with the financial resources of the Dodgers,” Manfred said. “We sell competition at the end of the day and you would expect them to be concerned.”
The total payroll across MLB was $3.2 billion in 2012, according to Spotrac. In 2025, it is $4.7 billion. The New York Yankees had the highest tax payroll in 2012 at $222 million. Now, it is the Dodgers at $392 million.
As teams at the top spend increasingly more money, the teams at the bottom haven’t. The Marlins payroll in 2025 is $47.1 million, the league’s lowest. In 2012, the Houston Astros were the lowest at $54 million. MLB is the only major North American professional sports league without a salary cap or floor.
“From the standpoint of – if you can do it, why wouldn’t you? You want to win, everyone’s trying to put their team in the best position to win and I respect that from them,” said Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro, referencing the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts leads a roster backed by one of the highest payrolls in MLB history as they aim for another World Series title. (Photo by Giuliano Moller/Cronkite News)
Large payrolls don’t guarantee postseason success. Since 2012, only the Red Sox in 2018 and the Dodgers in 2020 won the World Series with the highest payroll. High payrolls do have a generally positive correlation to regular-season success.
The Arizona Diamondbacks see the Dodgers up close, competing against them in the NL and sharing a division.
Phoenix is the 12th biggest market overall, according to Nielsen’s 2024-25 designated market areas. But with New York, L.A. and Chicago having two MLB teams, Phoenix is the 15th biggest market in baseball, by that measure. There have been times when the Diamondbacks operate like a big-market team, but they can’t, and shouldn’t, be compared to L.A.
“I don’t think how we stack up against the Dodgers is a fruitful endeavor for us going into any offseason or trading deadline,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said.
In 2025, the Diamondbacks’ projected tax payroll is about $205 million. It is the second consecutive year Arizona has been north of $200 million after being consistently well below that mark in years past.
The Diamondbacks may not be able to keep pace with the deep pockets of the Dodgers, but they did sign starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to the richest contract in franchise history this offseason, a six-year $210 million deal.
“It makes a statement that they’re not messing around,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “When you make that type of a statement, it filters down to the players.”
Arizona also recently extended shortstop Geraldo Perdomo on a four-year, $45 million contract. Over the past two offseasons, the Diamondbacks have guaranteed over $350 million in contracts.
The Diamondbacks made the World Series in 2023 and lost to the Texas Rangers. This continued a trend of Fall Classics with only teams from the East and West divisions. The last Central Division teams to make the World Series were the Cleveland Indians, now Guardians, and winner Chicago Cubs in 2016.
The current MLB collective bargaining agreement ends in December 2026. The last time the CBA was negotiated, a three-month lockout occurred before MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement.
In 1994, the disagreement on a new CBA led to a players’ strike, causing the cancellation of the World Series and shortening of the 1995 season. Throughout history, the MLBPA has consistently made it clear that they do not support a salary cap.
Baseball still has a year before concerns over another lockout will arise. In the meantime, the 2025 season will be a litmus test for whether the Dodgers’ domination of free agency will lead to lower viewership and attendance, and whether something should be changed to stop them.
