Assuming the coronavirus pandemic allows for a normal season in 2021 the Los Angeles Dodgers will owe three of their players—Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts and Kenley Jansen—around $75 million combined. On the surface, it seems like a classic example of rich versus poor: deep-pocketed coastal elites against scrappy upstarts who somehow thrive despite their limited resources. It suggests that, while a giant payroll certainly helps, anybody can compete with enough creativity and ingenuity, even without any artificial constraints on spending. But at the most precarious moment for baseball’s fragile labor relations in a quarter-century, with the threat of a work stoppage after the 2021 season looming large, this matchup between the Dodgers and Rays serves as an inadvertent referendum on the game’s economics. The Rays’ payroll, prorated for the curtailed schedule, registered at under $30 million, lower than all but two teams.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 19, 2020 13:18 UTC