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New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Yankees MLB trade deadline primer: 3 early storylines to watch
After finalizing a 2025 roster that no longer included superstar Juan Soto, New York Yankees officials expressed confidence that this year's team was not only deeper and more balanced but also better than the 2024 squad, which made the franchise's first World Series appearance since 2009. At the time, it seemed like empty words. How could a team that lost one of the best players in the sport, an American League MVP finalist, be better? But those officials, so far, look smart. Advertisement The Yankees have the second-best record in the AL (41-25), trailing only the Detroit Tigers, and the best run differential in the majors. Their offense has the highest Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) and the most home runs in the sport. Their main pivot after losing Soto to the New York Mets in free agency, Max Fried, has a 1.84 ERA and is an early contender for the AL Cy Young Award. The Yankees have dropped a few frustrating series, but at this stage, it's hard not to think of them as World Series contenders. That doesn't mean the Yankees' roster is perfect. They need at least one more bullpen arm and could use upgrades in the infield and starting rotation ahead of the trade deadline on July 31. Trade discussions among most clubs won't truly heat up until after the All-Star break in mid-July. Here are three storylines to monitor over the next seven weeks: Before the season began, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said dropping below the fourth and highest luxury tax threshold was not a concern to him. But the Yankees were actively trying to trade starter Marcus Stroman to shed as much of his $18.5 million salary as they could. Doing so would have put the team below the $301 million threshold. Perhaps the Yankees could have used Stroman's salary to upgrade the roster elsewhere, but they chose not to add another right-handed hitter despite general manager Brian Cashman telling reporters at the end of spring training he would feel better about the team if he were to get another bat. Steinbrenner has been adamant that he doesn't believe a payroll over $300 million has any correlation to winning a title. Only three teams since 2009 have ranked in the top three in payroll and won a championship: the 2018 Boston Red Sox, 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers and 2024 Dodgers. According to Cot's Contracts, the Yankees have MLB's third-highest payroll behind the Dodgers and New York Mets. Advertisement 'Does having a huge payroll really increase my chances that much of winning the championship?' Steinbrenner said in February. 'I'm not sure there's a strong correlation there. Having said that, we're the New York Yankees, we know what our fans expect. We're always going to be one of the highest in payroll. That's not going to change. And it certainly didn't change this year.' The Yankees currently have a $308 million payroll, according to Cot's. Every dollar spent over $301 million is taxed at a 110 percent rate. Unless the Yankees are able to shed salary, adding key contributors at the deadline will be costly for Steinbrenner. To use Steinbrenner's words, though, these are the New York Yankees we're talking about. Steinbrenner won't need to file for bankruptcy if they add to their payroll. This team is very good. Adding one or two key contributors could be the difference between a title and another empty year. He should open the checkbook if Cashman and the front office believe a move will help. Can DJ LeMahieu keep this up? LeMahieu had a career-worst year in 2024, posting a 52 wRC+ after starting his season late because of a foot injury. If you're reading this, you had more fWAR than LeMahieu did in 2024. Had the Yankees designated LeMahieu for assignment last season, no one would have questioned the front office. It's early, but there are positive signs that LeMahieu's start isn't flukey. He has the highest barrel rate and average exit velocity of his career. If he keeps it up, there's no reason to believe he can't be an above-average hitter for the rest of the season. Injuries are the chief concern at this stage of LeMahieu's career. He hasn't been able to stay healthy, and the Yankees probably should not count on him to remain at this level considering his recent poor track record. But if they believe this is real, it makes the need for another infielder less of a priority. The Yankees could choose to upgrade Oswald Peraza's roster spot, but they would need to acquire someone who could play shortstop because he's the current backup. Advertisement The Yankees' bullpen has not pitched well since May 1. Over that span, their bullpen ERA is the sixth-worst in MLB. Ian Hamilton, Fernando Cruz and Jonathan Loáisiga have underperformed during this stretch and the team has missed Luke Weaver, who was placed on the injured list in early June. Weaver (hamstring strain) isn't expected back for a few more weeks, so someone in this bullpen needs to rise. So far, no one has. Devin Williams has pitched better than he did at the start of the season, but he still doesn't look as sharp as he did with the Milwaukee Brewers. Mark Leiter Jr. has had a couple of tough outings since the start of May. Hamilton has a minor-league option remaining, so the Yankees could call up a pitcher from Triple A, like Clayton Beeter, or they could insert JT Brubaker into the bullpen when he completes his rehab assignment in the coming days. But, in all likelihood, the Yankees will look to the trade market to add a reliever. Since 2020, the Yankees have traded for at least one bullpen arm at the deadline. Even in the disastrous 2023 season, the Yankees' lone deadline move was trading for reliever Keynan Middleton. The Yankees also have to decide if they view adding a starter as a need. In all likelihood, Fried and Carlos Rodón would be their Games 1 and 2 starters in October, but who would be their No. 3? Can they count on Luis Gil to return from a lat injury that has sidelined him all season? Is Clarke Schmidt consistent enough to get the ball? Do they trust Will Warren's upside? These are questions the front office likely will ask over the next seven weeks. Starting pitching prices at the deadline in the expanded playoff era have been high, but the Yankees should seriously consider adding to their rotation. (Top photo of Brian Cashman: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Dodgers have a record-setting payroll. Could their spending impact future CBA talks?
The last time Major League Baseball and the players association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, the owners locked out the players before the 2022 season, a work stoppage that nearly resulted in the loss of regular-season games for the first time since 1995. Now, with that CBA set to expire after the 2026 season, there are growing concerns that another, potentially more destructive labor dispute could be on the horizon. And though there will be many issues to tackle when negotiations start next year, the Dodgers' staggering spending spree over the last two offseasons could represent some of the most contentious potential sticking points. Payroll disparities. Competitive imbalance. And, most of all, a long-simmering fight over the potential of a hard salary cap. Read more: 'Two grades better already.' Why Mookie Betts' shortstop switch should be smoother now For decades, some owners have sought to institute a salary cap in MLB, the only of the four major North American leagues without one. The closest the league has come is its luxury tax structure, which taxes teams for surpassing certain payroll thresholds each season. Introduced in the 2003 season, the luxury tax served as a de facto soft cap. Few teams dared surpass the threshold on a regular basis. The strengthening of tax penalties in the 2022 CBA — particularly for teams willing to blow well past thresholds — was designed to discourage any club from dominating the sport financially. The Dodgers and their deep-pocketed Guggenheim ownership group, however, had other ideas. After following up their $1.4-billion offseason splurge in the previous offseason with another half-billion or so of guaranteed money this winter, the Dodgers' hefty spending has them poised to have an MLB-record luxury tax payroll of $402 million, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. That is roughly $75 million more than the next-highest payroll. It is well beyond even the most punitive tax thresholds, which start at $241 million. And it's almost five times greater than teams at the other end of the spectrum, with the league-low $86 million payrolls of the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins likely to cost less than the Dodgers' tax bill alone (projected to be about $152 million). Against that backdrop, one question has dominated the sport this winter: Is the Dodgers' spending bad for baseball? On that point, at least, commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players' Assn. executive director Tony Clark agree. '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,' Manfred said at Cactus League media day on Tuesday. 'I think that's a great thing for the game. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see.' Read more: Dodgers hitters get first look at new star-studded pitching staff: 'I mean, we're loaded' Clark echoed those sentiments Wednesday, speaking to The Times shortly after his annual meeting with Dodgers players at Camelback Ranch. 'The bigger question is, teams that have resources — and they do, whether you're a small market, a mid-market or a large market — is why they don't seem to be as interested in signing players that can help them be the last team standing,' he said. Manfred didn't fault the Dodgers' spending the last two offseasons — when they added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on nine-figure contracts — but he did talk at length about the concerns he says he's heard from fans and owners about the payroll disparities that have emerged as a result. 'It's clear 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 at a press conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. 'I think that disparity, as it should be, is certainly at the top of my list of concerns about what's going on in the sport. When I say I can't be critical of the Dodgers, they are doing what the system wants. 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 didn't say whether owners would push for a salary cap, noting it's too early to begin staking public positions. But many around the industry expect that issue to resurface next year. And if it does, an already complicated negotiation could become even more fraught. 'It's not new,' Clark said of the potential fight over a salary cap, something the union is staunchly against. 'The league has been professing doom and gloom for decades.' Clark looks at the Dodgers as an example more teams should follow, especially after an offseason in which the majority of clubs decreased their luxury tax payrolls, despite the league netting a record $12.1 billion in revenue last season. 'We've always had a team, or teams, that have found themselves in the same conversation that Dodgers find themselves in here,' Clark said. 'But in an industry that's growing — and the reports about how much it's growing are tangible and coming from the league office — why do we have so many teams that aren't as interested in trying to improve their club as some others? That, to me, is the bigger question.' The legitimacy of worries over competitive imbalance remains to be seen. As Clark noted, this isn't the first time the league has had vast payroll disparities. The New York Yankees have long been heavy spenders under the ownership of the Steinbrenner family. More recently, the New York Mets had a $376.4-million luxury tax payroll in 2023, when no other team surpassed $300 million. Two years before that, the Dodgers' $285.6-million luxury tax payroll topped all teams by $70 million. Despite that, MLB has not had a repeat champion since the luxury tax was created in 2003. During that time, only three teams with the league's highest payroll have won the World Series. And even for all the anticipation around the Dodgers, betting lines and computer models give them no better than roughly 3-to-1 odds of defending their title. Past competitive balance concerns were assuaged in other ways too, from increases to the league's revenue-sharing model (in which big-market teams share with smaller clubs) to the expansion of the postseason (which has grown from eight to 10 to 12 teams over the last couple of decades). Read more: 'Lucky to have him in my corner.' How Blake Snell is helping Bobby Miller in Dodgers camp 'There are opportunities to affect change in the system that aren't cap-driven,' Clark said. 'Let's have a conversation about that, as opposed to what it appears to be, which is a very purposeful and deliberate focus on the one thing the league has been committed to for decades.' For now, the baseball world can only wait and wonder, hoping the Dodgers' disproportionate spending won't contribute to another elongated work stoppage. 'That'd be very disappointing for all of us,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'I just hope that we all realize that it's a pretty good game right now. Attendance has shown that. The players are better than they've ever been, in my opinion. So I hope and pray that we don't lose that momentum.' Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
19-02-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
The Dodgers have a record-setting payroll. Could their spending impact future CBA talks?
PHOENIX — The last time Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Assn. negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, it resulted in the owners locking out the players before the 2022 season, a work stoppage that nearly resulted in the loss of regular-season games for the first time since 1995. Now, with that CBA set to expire after the 2026 season, there are growing concerns that another — and potentially more destructive — labor dispute could be on the horizon. And though there will be many issues for the league and its players to tackle when negotiations start up next year, the Dodgers' staggering spending spree over the last two offseasons could bring some of the most contentious potential sticking points back to the forefront. Payroll disparities. Competitive imbalance. And, most of all, a long-simmering fight over the potential of a hard salary cap. For decades, some owners have sought to institute a salary cap in MLB, the only of the four major North American sports leagues not to have one. The closest the league has come is its current luxury tax structure, which taxes teams for surpassing certain payroll thresholds each season. After it was introduced in the 2003 season, the luxury tax served as a de facto soft cap. Few teams dared surpass the tax threshold on a regular basis. The strengthening of tax penalties in the 2022 CBA — particularly for teams willing to blow well past tax thresholds — was designed to discourage any one club from dominating the sport financially. The Dodgers and their deep-pocketed Guggenheim ownership group, however, had other ideas. After following up their $1.4 billion offseason splurge last year with another half-billion or so of guaranteed money this winter, the Dodgers' hefty spending has highlighted a wedge issue around the sport in the run-up to next year's CBA talks. As things currently stand, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Dodgers are expected to have an MLB-record luxury tax payroll of $402 million in 2025. That total is roughly $75 million more than the league's next-highest payroll. It is well beyond even the most punitive tax thresholds, which start at $241 million. And it's almost five times greater than teams at the other end of the financial spectrum, with the league-low $86 million payrolls of the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins likely to cost less than the Dodgers' tax bill alone (currently projected to be about $152 million) come the end of the season. Against that backdrop, one question has dominated the sport this winter: Is the Dodgers' spending bad for baseball? On that point, at least, commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players' Assn. executive director Tony Clark agree. 'I think 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,' Manfred said at Cactus League media day on Tuesday. 'I think that's a great thing for the game. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see.' 'No, it's not,' Clark echoed Wednesday, speaking to The Times shortly after his annual meeting with Dodgers players at Camelback Ranch. 'The bigger question is, teams that have resources — and they do, whether you're a small market, a mid-market or a large market — is why they don't seem to be as interested in signing players that can help them be the last team standing.' The way the league's owners and its players' union react to the larger financial dynamics in the sport is where things could get tricky when CBA discussions begin next year. Manfred didn't fault the Dodgers' big-spending tactics of the last two offseasons — when they've added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on nine-figure contracts — but he did talk at length about the concerns he says he's heard from fans and owners alike about the payroll disparities that have emerged as a result. 'It's clear 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 at a press conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. 'I think that disparity, as it should be, is certainly at the top of my list of concerns about what's going on in the sport,' Manfred added. 'When I say I can't be critical of the Dodgers, they are doing what the system wants. 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 didn't say whether the owners would push for a salary cap in the upcoming CBA talks, noting it's still too early in the process for the league to begin staking public positions. But many around the industry expect that issue to resurface next year. And if it does, an already complicated negotiation could become even more fraught. 'It's not new,' Clark said of the looming potential fight over a salary cap, something the players' union is staunchly against. 'The league has been professing doom and gloom for decades.' Clark, on the other hand, looks at the Dodgers as an example more teams should be following; especially after an offseason that saw the majority of MLB clubs decrease their luxury tax payrolls from 2024, despite the league netting a record $12.1 billion in revenue last season. 'We've always had a team, or teams, that have found themselves in the same conversation that Dodgers find themselves in here,' Clark said. 'But in an industry that's growing — and the reports about how much it's growing are tangible and coming from the league office — why do we have so many teams that aren't as interested in trying to improve their club as some others? That, to me, is the bigger question.' The legitimacy of worries over competitive imbalance remains to be seen. As Clark noted, this isn't the first time the league has dealt with vast payroll disparities. The New York Yankees have long been heavy spenders under the ownership of the Steinbrenner family. More recently, the New York Mets had a $376.4 million luxury tax payroll in 2023, when no other team surpassed $300 million. Two years before that, the Dodgers' $285.6 million luxury tax payroll in 2021 topped all other teams by $70 million. Despite that, MLB has not had a repeat champion since the luxury tax was created in 2003. During that time, only three teams with the league's highest payroll have won the World Series. And even for all the anticipation around the Dodgers entering this year, betting lines and computer models give them no better than roughly three-to-one odds of defending their 2024 title. Past competitive balance concerns have been assuaged in other ways, too, from increases to the league's revenue-sharing model (in which revenues from big-market teams are shared with smaller-market clubs) to the expansion of MLB's postseason (which has grown from eight to 10 to 12 teams over the last couple decades). Given that, Clark argued, 'it begs the question as to whether, or to what extent, there's a willingness to consider any other option' to address financial disparity concerns other than a salary cap. 'There are opportunities to affect change in the system that aren't cap-driven,' Clark added. 'Let's have a conversation about that, as opposed to what it appears to be, which is a very purposeful and deliberate focus on the one thing the league has been committed to for decades.' For now, the baseball world can only wait and wonder, hoping the Dodgers' disproportionate spending won't contribute to another elongated work stoppage. 'That'd be very disappointing for all of us,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'I just hope that we all realize that it's a pretty good game right now. Attendance has shown that. The players are better than they've ever been, in my opinion. So I hope and pray that we don't lose that momentum.'
New York Times
27-01-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Astros pursuing Jorge Polanco as Alex Bregman sweepstakes continue: Sources
HOUSTON — Trading setup man Ryan Pressly and the majority of his $14 million salary has been one of the Houston Astros' foremost offseason goals. That they achieved it while re-entering the Alex Bregman sweepstakes is a piece of pure coincidence, timing that fueled speculation of an imminent reunion between Bregman and the only franchise he's ever known. Advertisement No such resolution is near, and the Astros continue to show strong interest in another option, veteran infielder Jorge Polanco, two league sources told The Athletic on Monday. Polanco, 31, offers the Astros a contingency plan if Bregman goes elsewhere or sees his market drag into spring training. Bregman, who turns 31 on March 30, maintains interest from five teams and is no closer to a decision now than before Pressly's departure. Still, Houston dumped the setup man's salary — and weakened its already thin bullpen — to augment the club's offense and versatility. Polanco has been cleared to resume baseball activities after undergoing left knee surgery on Oct. 10. In a letter from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Daniel Cooper that Polanco's agent, Ulises Cabrera, released to interested teams, Cooper said, 'I am optimistic that (Polanco) will be 100 percent and fully recovered' by the beginning of the regular season. Cooper added he does 'not think he will have any restrictions during spring training.' Polanco has only played shortstop, second base and third base at the major-league level, but could contribute in left field if he signs with the Astros, sources said. If Bregman returns, the Astros would move longtime second baseman Jose Altuve to left field, a position Altuve said on Saturday he is amenable to playing. It's difficult to envision Houston signing both Polanco and Bregman. Signing just one of them will complicate an already crowded infield — and perhaps precipitate another trade to shave some more payroll. Polanco, obviously, would come far cheaper than Bregman but still may put the Astros over the luxury tax. All winter, sources have indicated Astros owner Jim Crane is unwilling to pay the tax for a second consecutive season. Shipping $8.5 million of Pressly's salary to Chicago leaves the Astros less than $5 million away from the first tax threshold, according to Cot's Contracts. Advertisement Crane maintained a similar luxury tax stance last winter, but broke character to splurge on free-agent closer Josh Hader, whom Crane coveted during the 2023 trade deadline. It stands to reason that Bregman, a franchise icon, has enough cachet for Crane to again run counter to his budgetary restrictions. Crane's initial six-year, $156 million offer to Bregman remains on the table, but it's unclear if the owner has any appetite to increase it. The offer represents the largest contract in franchise history. In general, negotiations of such magnitude are at the ownership level, shifting the spotlight to Crane and what he desires. Whether the owner is willing to wait out Bregman's market is a mystery, as is his willingness to carry another franchise-record payroll. The disastrous contracts Crane gave to José Abreu and Rafael Montero have already handcuffed the team this winter and, at least in part, played into the decisions to trade Pressly and Kyle Tucker. General manager Dana Brown's tepid, if not unenthusiastic, take on Bregman's market Saturday suggested his outlook. 'It's a long shot,' Brown said on Saturday, 'but it's conversations that you have.' GO DEEPER Ryan Pressly approves trade from Astros to Cubs: Source GO DEEPER Jose Altuve open to position change if Astros re-sign Alex Bregman (Photo of Jorge Polanco: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
