Not every contender is built the same. Major League Baseball is one of the only major sports leagues without a hard salary cap. This means teams in big markets can exceed a threshold set by the league and simply pay a luxury tax. The 2024 MLB luxury tax threshold was set at $237 million. Here’s how the current MLB playoff teams stack up in payroll based on USA TODAY’s salary report from the start of the season.
New York Mets: $305,624,274 payroll
Francisco Lindor – $32.5 million
Starling Marte – $20.8 million
Pete Alonso – $20.5 million
Brandon Nimmo – $20.5 million
Edwin Díaz – $18.3 million
New York Yankees- $303,322,047 payroll
Aaron Judge – $40 million
Gerrit Cole – $36 million
Giancarlo Stanton – $32 million
Juan Soto – $31 million
Carlos Rodon – $27.8 million
Los Angeles Dodgers – $249,823,654 payroll
Shohei Ohtani – $70 million
Mookie Betts – $26.2 million
Freddie Freeman – $25.1 million
Teoscar Hernández – $23.5 million
Tyler Glasnow – $15 million
Philadelphia Phillies – $243,476,617 payroll
Bryce Harper – $27.5 million
Trea Turner – $27.3 million
Aaron Nola – $24.6 million
JT Realmuto – $23.9 million
Zack Wheeler – $23.5 million
San Diego Padres- $161,937,554 payroll
Xander Bogaerts – $25.5 million
Joe Musgrove – $20 million
Manny Machado – $17.1 million
Yu Darvish – $16 million
Fernando Tatis Jr. $11.7 million
Kansas City Royals – $115,257,261 payroll
Salvador Pérez – $20 million
Michael Wacha – $16 million
Seth Lugo – $15 million
Jordan Lyles – $8.5 million*
Hunter Renfroe – $5.5 million
Detroit Tigers – $103,834,833
Javier Báez – $25 million
Jack Flaherty $14 million*
Kenta Maeda – $14 million
Mark Canha – $11.5 million*
Andrew Chafin – $4.3 million*
Cleveland Guardians − $93,333,629
José Ramírez – $17 million
Shane Bieber – $13.3 million
Scott Barlow – $6.7 million*
Josh Naylor – $6.6 million
Andrés Giménez – $5.6 million
* indicates player is no longer on the team.
Notes
Three of the Tigers’ most costly players from Opening Day are no longer with the team in Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha, and Andrew Chafin.
Shohei Ohtani counts for more against the Dodgers payroll than the entire Oakland Athletics payroll of $60.5 million.
The Mets have three times the payroll of the Detroit Tigers, and both teams will be playing in the Division Series round of the postseason.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman would not even crack the top five of highest paid players on the Yankee’s payroll in 2024.
Javier Báez makes more money than any player on the Guardians and has not played since August.
Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole are the only players to have top 10 salaries in baseball remaining in the postseason.
The four teams with the highest payrolls in the entire MLB are all playing in the Division Series
Photo Credit: A view of the MLB postseason 2024 logo prior to Game One of the Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on October 05, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
