The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of buying up every decent free agent available. They have effectively cornered the market and capable of outbidding every other team. To summar…
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WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of buying up every decent free agent available. They have effectively cornered the market and capable of outbidding every other team.
To summarize the huge wealth disparity between teams, they are now paying a free agent over $57 mill per year. A player who has never hit .300 or more than 30 HRs in a season.
The nearest competition is with the Mets but there is over a $100 mill difference between the 2 teams’ payrolls.
What the Dodgers are doing has renewed the call for baseball to incorporate a salary cap. Limiting what teams can pay but also putting a floor on how low they can go.
It has gotten so bad that the Dodgers’ payroll – $429 mill – is more than the entire payroll of the 5 AL Central teams put together. It is also more than the entire sum of NL Central teams.
Not unnoticed are the last 6 teams to win the World Series. The Dodgers, 3 times. Two teams ranking with the 6th and 7th highest payrolls and the last with the 12th highest.
There are 7 teams with payrolls under $100 mill. Thirteen teams with salaries ranging from $100 mill – $200 mill. Eight teams from $200 mill to just under $300. One team (Mets) in the 300’s and the Dodgers at $429 mill.
For the record, the Detroit Tigers sit squarely in the middle with an estimated $161 mill. Their payroll is the highest in the AL Central.
The idea of a salary cap has gone back decades and resulted in work stoppages. Owners, for the most part, want one. Players do not.
It is expected to be the main topic of contention as the sport gears up for another CBA battle. The issue is so divisive that it is expected to create another shortened season at best.
MLB is the only professional sport that does not have a salary cap.
We’ve gotten to the point that the system is rigged for teams who want to sign free agents. Almost every team cannot afford to do what the Dodgers and Mets are doing. And it’s making the game unfair and unbalanced for fans who want to see their teams play into October.
Owners are expected to take a hard line in the CBA negotiations.
Which leads us to asking fans a very challenging question.
Are you willing to see a significantly shortened or cancelled season in 2027 if it means a salary cap will take effect?
Or do you want to see a season no matter what and are willing to continue to put up with what is an increasingly unfair system?
How strongly do you feel about baseball implementing a salary cap?
1. It's a must and I'm willing to sacrifice part of the 2027 season to see it happen.
2. A salary cap is not worth losing part of the 2027 season.
VOTE