Yet another offseason of hyperaggressive spending and mind-boggling CBT payrolls from the Dodgers and Mets (and, this winter, the Blue Jays) has led to increased talk of competitive balance ahead of the impending conclusion of the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement. Owners are again expected to push for a salary cap -- though that's a perpetual goal and would absolutely have been the case regardless of how the usual suspects spent in free agency this winter -- and they'll have plenty of fan support in that regard.
Fans, particularly those of small market teams, feel a clear sense of defeatism, knowing their clubs will rarely (or in some cases never) be players for the top names in free agency. The Dodgers were close enough to losing in the World Series that it's not fair to say they can freely buy themselves a championship -- the Mets spent more in 2025 and missed the postseason entirely -- but it's fair to say they're spending enough to give themselves something like a 95% chance of making the postseason and entering as the favorite.
The other side of the cap argument, of course, is that it would assuredly usher in the implementation of a salary floor -- a level at which teams must spend on payroll or else be subject to some degree of penalization. There's already a weak "floor" in place for revenue-sharing clubs, but it seems to lack any semblance of teeth. The A's felt compelled to spend enough to push their CBT payroll up to $105MM last year -- roughly 1.5 times the amount they receive annually from revenue-sharing -- but that was seemingly because they're the only club to have been actually stripped of revenue-sharing status in the past. The Marlins were supposedly in the same boat this winter, and they've thumbed their nose at the idea of spending, as evidenced by a CBT payroll in the $80MM range.
I can see the arguments for a cap/floor system. I'm skeptical that it would actually force the game's lowest-payroll clubs to spend in meaningful ways, but that's another topic -- and one that we'll surely debate ad nauseum in the year to come as CBA talks intensify.
But whether it's a salary floor, firm penalties for not spending revenue-sharing funds in tangible ways, or greater access to draft/international resources for non-playoff clubs who remain competitive, something has to give. Right now, there's at least one entire division content to sit on its hands as the five respective front offices seemingly embody that same level of defeatism felt by their small- and mid-market fan bases.
If the Dodgers are a budding dynasty, it's unequivocally fair to say that's in part because of their limitless spending capacity. But it's also because there are teams seemingly content to throw their hands up and ask, "why even bother?" At a certain point, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy -- and I'd argue that at least with regard to the AL Central, we've reached that point. Let's look at each AL Central club's offseason to date.
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Steve. 10/10 picture choice for this. I will laugh for a week.
And to answer your question, no. Not at all. The Tigers almost tried, but they didn’t want to risk anything after Little Cesar’s everywhere keep closing.
The Guardians.
I wish they’d try a little harder
I think that is the mantra of the fans of most teams.
Royals have a top ten rotation, a hall of fame catcher, a 30 homer first baseman, one of the best players at short. If JAC can show his hitting potential, he’ll be dangerous to go along with their gold glove all-star 3rd baseman.
He ain’t Hall of Fame anymore.
The Royals didn’t make the playoffs last year, even coming from a soft division that had a division leader produce an epic collapse.
They had a top ten rotation last season.
They had a Hall of Very Good catcher last year who is now a year older and possibly even less effective than the 0.4 bWAR he produced last season.
They had a really good big three in Bobby, Vinnie and Maikel last season.
Jac may well step up, but by god his first try at the majors was ugly.
They had an all time horrendous outfield last season and have only added Collins, who should help, but only has a one year track record.
Trying to win, to me, means doing more than what you did last year when last year didn’t result in success. They’ve barely moved forward, if they’ve moved forward at all.
I think they mean Carter Jensen.
Chris Ilitch does not care about winning like his dad did. It’s very clear by the half in half out approach. Scott Harris thinks he’s smarter than everyone else, and keeps signing retreads or projects.
Chris thinks it’s ok to say he tried to keep the best pitcher on the planet when he doesn’t even give a competitive offer
I think the Guardians are the most serious of the five, partly because they have the longest drought.
That would seem to be the case, but when one of the worst hitting teams in baseball does NOTHING to improve that lineup, reality just doesn’t match up with the ideal.
Yeah, that explains why the Tigers are considered the favorites.
As a Guards fan I’m excited to see the new kids come up and get a chance. They have been one of the youngest teams for years. Delauter, bazzana, Brito, cafus, Espino are all guys that needs at bats who will make their debut this year. I hope they don’t sign a guy that will block them.
As for the Tigers, they are going to be tough. They have a solid lineup and a lot of talented youngsters waiting for their shot.
KC, could have an offensive boost with the new ballpark dimensions.
Twins? Meh. White Sux? Meh
It’s a three horse race.
I agree w you, debubba, we haven’t seen anyone as interesting as DeLauter and Bazzana in awhile in Cleveland. Even Brito seems sneaky good with the wood, he doesn’t hit it very hard but he hits it right, like Jose lots of pulled fly balls (in his last healthy year age 22 in AAA in 2024 he somehow managed 40 2B 21 HR with a Jose like 35% hard hit rate, waste not want not –attaboy). Let’s just hope he can field and hope for some health this year.
My only concern is with a FO that can be afraid to put prospects, mostly hitting prospects, in motion. If Jones or Arias don’t come out of the gate smoking hot, time to turn the page. (I’d trade Arias now, somebody must need a good fielding SS.) We’ve had too many overlong 700 PA plus looks at the Owen Millers, Jake Bauers, Will Brennan’s of the baseball world. If these tip guys are healthy play them. Bazzana finally looked like a 1/1 in September before he pulled a rib muscle. Time’s a wastin’. We’re not spending money so spend their service clocks.
Agreed. They have to take advantage of Jose right now. Delauter needs to come out of camp with the team. Take advantage of him while he’s healthy. I wouldn’t out him in center, try and keep him healthier. Arias will have a really small window while they service time Bazzana. He would be a great utility guy.
I’m off Arias, great glove but he had a 39% K rate in the second half. When I saw Bazzana begin to shine in early September, 4 HR IL player of week designation, I thought great this is the boost the team needs for the playoffs if they can make it. Of course he blows an oblique and a lost season continues. For him and Brito such seasons are atypical, not so for Delauter who I was surprised and delighted to see in the ALDS. Him I really cross my fingers on health wise — and plan to leave plenty of open DH starts for — but there’s definitely a big boost to be had offensively. I usually call to fill gaps with a veteran bat, not so this year.
Just a reminder that Cleveland blew a three games to one lead in 2016 World series. Could have wrapped up their first World series in how many years ? but they blew the next three games.
Those Indians had Lindor and Kluber and some bashers in the lineup
The Guardians have prime Jose Ramirez and literally no one else
Yeah, for ownership to suddenly reduce payroll for the 2019 Indians is still a big blot on their record for this long time fan. I’d heard all the “we’ll fund it when we’re close” talk and saw them hike payroll to adequate middle of the pack levels for exactly two years 2017-18 after the surprisingly 2016 run to the World Series on a payroll ranked 24th out of 30. To then cut payroll with a world class pitching staff and with Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor giving max value on small pay rates seems so wasteful for an organization that hadn’t seen a WS win since 1948. Crazy.
Game seven was legendary
This just in…we landed on the moon! In other old news…
Can the Angels move to the Central?
Alberta Angels!
Ironically, Calgary and Edmonton aren’t that much further east than Anaheim. East/West wise, Calgary is in between Las Vegas and Phoenix
I know it, but I jumped at the assonance!
Can’t blame you there 😉
Maybe Alabama Angels would be more appropriate?
Austin Angels?
Albuquerque Angels of Alabama.
Couldn’t have one TX team in the Central with two others in the AL West.
Astros used to be in the nl central 😉
Indianapolis is ready
Ready for college basketball
Maybe one of the private investment firms ask buy the White Sox and make the Dodgers and Mets look silly and just dominate the AL central for the next decade. Cmon Blackrock…. baseball needs a trillionaire owner that can issue $1 billion in deferred money annually. Have a superstar at every position.
Owners are irrelevant. Teams spend from team revenue not owners’ pockets.
Impossible for most fans to accept this basic reality.
While very true. Non-billionaire owners tend to like some profits from their business.
Put some teeth into the clause that makes them put 150% of revenue sharing into payroll and then make LA and the Yankees share more of that astronomical revenue.
Bring that 105M up to 130M and make them spend it. I think 50M more on payroll would make the Guardians/Reds/Pirates/Marlins and Rays look more like champions.
@CleaverGreene
In other words, force small markets to spend more on the tier of free agents who add little to winning or force them to give more early extensions to unproven players.
Perhaps I could get on board with this if all revenue in the MLB were pooled, but is that really likely to happen? About as likely as the MLBPA is likely to push for changes that distribute player compensation more equitably among its members.
We can’t sit here with a straight face and suggest Kyle Tucker contributions are THAT much more essential to winning than others making a fraction of his salary, are we?
When a players’ compensation diverges that much from reality, why are we thinking a few more million spent by small markets meaningfully affects the paradigm?
You characterized it correctly: those small markets might “look” more like champions, but c’mon.
Cohen
you forgot the Elephant in the room: Real Income including government subsidies. Every team gets welfare from the public, the Public doesn’t know what the Team or the MLB is making in revenues.. and you certainly can’t debate the topic of spending unless you know who is really making what… its a false picture being shown and people are told to talk about reality.. How Much is the MLB and the teams making off gambling?… what do the Uncooked books really show?… Give us that information and we can draw rational conclusions… rather than be sucked in by a con… where the Billionaires become trillionaires… while the fans are being sold some generic product with High end advertising… we want the Best money can buy… after all we pay for that..
How much are you willing to ante up when you know the other guy is already holding 4 aces?
Trash league.
This would be a logical stance, if we did not go 2 decades with out a repeat champion. There is more parity in baseball than any other of the 4 major sports. Lack of parity, is bs argument fed to fans by billionaire owners that want to squeeze even more money out of the sport, and they have already tapped out the fans and advertising/media money, so now they are trying to take it from the players who are what we as fans actually pay to see.
Incompetence mixed with a small sample size playoff.
Your daddy is the worst at buying a trophy for you but you know it’s still a better bet than competing on a level playing field.
It’s no wonder that basically every NY sports team blows except the ones who can buy their way into contention.
The Giants, Jets, Rangers, etc. are proof that caps work.
The Royals
Look around the Midwest where all these teams play. Only the Cubs spend money.
Pirates, Reds, Guards, Tigers, ChiSox, Brewers, Twins, Royals and Cards…who spends big bucks?
The NFL has salary caps and revenue sharing. The NBA some too. But not MLB. MLB has minimal revenue sharing and the luxury tax distributions don’t move the needle. They are also the only ones exempt from anti-trust. That’s why the deep pocketed East and West Coast teams can outspend these Midwestern guys into oblivion.
The Cards shouldn’t be included in the list.
Cards are like the Astros where they can hover close to the luxury tax
They will probably have smaller payrolls though for the next 2-3 years
I don’t follow the Cards payroll. Spotrac shows the Cards at #22 in payroll for 2026. Behind Detroit, KC, Milwaukee and Cincinnati.
Houston is #10
The teams that cry poor and don’t spend, and the teams that blow the highest threshold out of the water, are both parts of the problem. Yes teams like those in the AL central should invest a lot more than they do. But you’re crazy if you think they could ever spend like the Dodgers and New York teams.
The Cubs have a terrible revenue to payroll ratio so they’re not spending as they could.
Why would they invest in their teams when the Yankees will just spend more, take their playoff spot AND STILL NOT WIN because you aren’t as good at buying trophies as the Dodgers?
No return on that investment.
Buying trophies? Cry harder. The Mets spent more than the Dodgers did last year, and didn’t even make the playoffs. Maybe you can tell Steve Cohen and the Mets where to go stand in line. And while you’re at it, tell the Yankees, Phillies, Jays, Padres, Cubs, and Angels, where to go too, because they are all top 10 payroll teams and none of them have won anything since the Yankees in ‘09. The only teams that are in the top 10 that have, are the Rangers and Astros (twice, but only once legitimately) and Red Sox whose legitimacy is also questionable. Only 5 MLB teams have never won a World Series, and 4 of them made the playoffs last year.
There’s no crying in baseball. Go get some tissue.
Spending exponentially more than your competition is buying trophies, yes.
If you don’t like that fact, watch a real sport.
The White Sox spend when their team is good, They just refuse to spend a dollar to make a horrible team average.
There may be a three year strike but there absolutely will be a cap.
B.S. The big three are lucky they play where they do and have big income or they wouldn’t win a damn thing. Brewers and Tampa Bay are the class of the 30.
Tigers made the playoffs the past two seasons and they added a rotation piece and two bullpen arms. May not be as aggressive as some would like but they are trying to win the ALC. And more importantly, they haven’t listened to the tripe about trading Skubal.
Do you really count Drew Anderson and A late 30s Kenley Jansen as strong additions? That’s the guys we’re counting on to make a stronger push with our last year with Skubal? It’s a pathetic effort. They should trade him if they aren’t going to try to get better while he’s here.
I suspect Anderson will be a serviceable 5th starter. 4.5 ERA and will mostly get you through 6. Jansen, Vest and Finnegan are a damn good end of game trio out of the pen.
The Tiger’s issue is not pitching as much as hitting. Can they average 4.5 runs per game?
Not with running back almost the same team. And the exact same offense. I have real concerns about their pitching depth. Not a lot of proven guys who have pitched a full season
White Sox look like the closest to a big market team. They just need to take a couple steps before spending big. The others are cheapskates with bad TV deals
If Reinsdorf sells the team they could go through a New York Mets transformation and try to compete with the cubs
It’s a AAAA division. The tallest midget that wins that division should have to play the winner of Pacific Coast League in a 1 game playoff and the winner gets to get smoked by the team with the best record in the AL in the first round of the playoffs.
I don’t the no the strategy is to win the division. I think the strategy amongst the teams is to lose the least amount of games.
I think the strategy since the 2016 run is to put a team on the field that is good enough to complete for a playoff spot and look to get hit in the playoffs. That’s what the Indians did in 16. They had average lineup and two healthy starters. Since then, they have been in the top five in overall wins. Cleveland will never go out and spend for a Harper, Ohtani, Skubal.
Not hit, hot…
The Dodgers have the AL Central locked up.
I think WSox are going to do better than
Most baseball people think…..at least I HOPE SO
There are only a handful of teams league wide actually trying to win, and most of those seem to be at their limits already.
It seems that many/most small & mid market teams have deliberately tried *not* spending the last few years to try and strengthen their argument for a cap. All AL central teams seem guilty of this. The difference between father & son Tigers owners is quite telling.
I’m sure making the Dodgers, Yanks, Sawx, Phils and so on give all their revenue to the Pirates & Rockies will make all this better..
Works fine in the most successful league of all time, that’s about to have like 20% of the world watch their championship game. And yes, that’s exactly what they do in the NFL.
NFL is nothing in other continents. Football means soccer everywhere else. MLB is big in many countries and NBA is big in even more. Factor in roster sizes and it is clear why NFL non-QBs make so much less than average players in other sports.
AL Central might be the only division playing in reality. The coast teams are seeing who can spend more and still only get one round into the playoffs, just like the AL Central. Perhaps the other teams should follow the lead of Midwest, pragmatic, non-emotional businesspeople trying to win by smarts instead of mere dollar power. That’s really what sports should be about anyway.
Let’s be real, AL Central teams have zero chance at rings. We’re just the only ones who have realized it. Royals were probably the last one to win one out of that division in 2015. But, we are making the most money per dollar spent. We can produce an entertaining team enough to get a return and keep our team. Teams like the Yankees are throwing cash trying to win rings and can’t do it. Which fans are more discouraged with their teams?
I sure hope not. Can’t have the owners of those teams struggle
Tigers have a wave of top prospects coming in the next 1-2 years, makes no sense to overpay a veteran who will be blocking someone after a year. If they keep Skubal they are favorites, Olson should be back, Melton looks great, Monteiro is a rotation piece.
Montero should not be a rotation piece. He’s below average
If they find the money to keep Skubal next year that would make this off-season even more bizarro.
Fun fact;
Teams in AL Central had exactly the same number of wins as teams in NL West last season.
Because they play each other.
Let me give you a math lesson. If there is only 1 game that day and the Tigers beat the White Sox, the division is 1-1. The division will be .500 against itself. So will the NL West. The only way to be above .500 is to beat other divisions more than you lose to them. See how the math works?
Let me give you a lesson: if they had a payroll/salary cap with payroll floors; lower financed owners (aka cheap owners) would stop paying for pitching labs, scouting, development etc. and they'[d still be at the bottom of the heap.
@CleaverGreene
You’re only “cheap” if you don’t spend what it takes to construct a competitive organization. It’s a commitment to those fixed costs (that EVERY team has) that allows smart low revenue teams to compete at the margins.
As a Cleveland fan, I’d much rather try to win in the current system which requires sound decision-making than be forced to spend in a manner that really doesn’t get anyone anywhere but provides the patina the league wants to justify the big markets and star players (and their agents) continue with the inequities that have always marked the game.
It’s okay, I’m used to the challenge as a fan. I’m just amused by big market fans whose think their teams actually accomplish something when they win and blame small markets when they don’t.
The fact that we need to seriously ask if an entire division is even trying and people think the lack of a salary cap is the problem with baseball is absolutely mind blowing.
I’s competitive, and at the end of the day it’s pretty exciting. Detroit had the big names, but the rebuilds aren’t worth it. I like where their at with or without Skubal. He’s gone. It’s too much money being paid out by other teams for lesser players than him. If he stays, that would be great too. GO TIGERS !
They should have traded Skubal last offseason. Harris claims to be building long term success through developing their own players and they COULD have gotten a plethora of prospects. Instead he will walk for one draft pick. If Tampa is Harris” model they have to trade players BEFORE their walk year
No one has tried to win the AL Mid for years. The guardians occasionally make moves to stay competitive for optics but no one in that division has had a good team for quite a while. Royals might change that if some of their young guys get going but everyone else is just spinning their wheels. Twins appeared to have made an effort with Correa’s signings but they tapped out fairly quickly even though they were up against weak competition.
Guardians and Tigers have some studs on the way…
So do a lot of teams. Including most of the big spenders. Have you seen the Dodgers and Mets farms lately?
It takes as much money to put together a great farm system in a small market as a big market…and that’s the point. Which team has money left over for major league payroll?
Also, big markets can afford to deal their high risk prospects (ALL prospects are high risk) for high cost proven major leaguers, something small markets can’t do. They have to hold their prospects and pray they work out.
Small markets can’t paper over mistakes and take the same chances the big markets can, that’s the real separator.
And that won’t change with a payroll cap. All a cap does is put more of LA’s revenue money in the owners pockets instead of staying in the MLB pot of riches.
The answer is stricter luxury taxes, more revenue sharing and put teeth in that 150% clause so it’s not just the A’s that are afraid of it.
This a fight between owners more than a fight between the MLBPA and owners.
The division is so bad, it gave the White Sox hope! Unfortunately, they only improved enough to only lose 99 games.
Who are the Indians?
@seamaholic 2
People from India. I thought cricket was their game though?
All it takes is one team to spend a little and that team whoever it is could run away with it
Lol. No
Typical.
Absent any evidence whatsoever–because no one has it–the author peddles the big market propaganda that they’re the “virtuous spenders” while the small market teams are the black-hat “profiteers” in the system.
How nonsensical is that?
Rather than question why big markets are the presumed good guys for hauling away dump trucks of cash to their banks, we instead assail the small market owners for pocketing a comparative pittance.
Riddle me this, Batman: why do we expect small market owners to spend a greater percentage of THEIR revenues on baseball operations than big markets do?
Is that a rational response to market disparity? Heck no, but that this article insinuates that small markets should spend more despite having far less only demonstrates how effective the big markets have been in snowing those who ought to know better.
vast vast majority of baseball media work for broadcast networks like ESPN and Fox who have a vested interest in the most populous and wealthiest markets maintaining dominance in the sport. They perpetuate the myth of the no good, profiteering , welfare queen owner who only wants to rake in hard earned revenue sharing from the REAL teams in coastal markets, and this narrative trickles down to independent writers and bloggers who cite the network mouthpieces as sources.
@Steinbrenner, arguing or making any sort of coherent statement to Avory Dolan won’t get you anywhere. Cleveland will be Cleveland. Anyone paying attention knows their M.O. Good enough to be in the league. Good enough to win the division. Good enough to make the playoffs. But not good enough to win it all. Avory Dolan and all of the Dolans are fine with the mantra: close but not quite.
Chill out on hating the Tigers Anthony. They have a way better overall team and future foundation / farm system than the rest of the central teams. I think they will win the Arbitration case against Skubal and use that saved money on adding another SP (Giolitto or Bassitt or JV or Max ) and another bat …. I’m glad they didn’t sign anyone like Bregman, Bichette, Cease, etc., to a long term contract, knowing in a year or two they will be on the downside of their careers and will be blocking some of our best up and coming prospects. Under Al Avilia and to some extent Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers tried (and failed) to use Free Agency to win a World Series; the way Scott Harris is doing it, is similar to what works for small / mid market teams, which is build a farm system so that at least half of your roster comes from within, however it must include some of your teams best / superstar players. When the Tigers won it all in 1984, the vast majority of the team came from within their farm system, the only high priced free agent was Darryl Evans and their best reliever, Willie Hernandez, came via a minor trade in spring training. We here in Motown are hopeful that McGonigle, Clark, Rainer and Briceno (all top 100 prospects) are our next Trammell, Whitaker, Morris, Petry, Lopez, and Parrish, and get to play in a lineup with other home grown talent. (Skubal, Greene, Carpenter, Torkelson, Meadows, Melton, Vest, Mize, and Dingler) And at that time, they can add one or two expensive pieces in free agency to put them over the top.
Exactly, Tigers are taking the correct approach. Besides the big 4 there are several other prospects with high upside.
If the tigers win the arb case with Skubal, they are not saving money. His salary still increases significantly.
I dislike window shopped and store bought teams. The Yankees of the 80s couldn’t buy a winner. It took Steinbrenner to be locked out for the Yankees to build a core from within.
Only hoping for prospects to become stars is a losing model. Dombrowski takes heat but he gave us the best ten years of Tiger Baseball in my life. And he TRIED to restock the farm system trading Price and Cespedes for Fulmer Norriss and Boyd. All had middling careers and Boyd is still pitching. But a petulant Mike Illitch fired Dombrowski for flirting with the Red Sox when Illitch wouldn’t extend him, That led to 10 years of the worst baseball I have seen and I lives through 75 and 03 seaon
Just because they aren’t buying wins like some of the teams do doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to win. I personally like this approach better.
Reading comments from many Tigers enthusiasts here proves up this headline in the negative.
“We might eventually win by not trying to win.” Pathetic.
The goal is (should be) to win. Right now. Every year. Always. Not, someday, or never.
A goodly share of Detroit fans have a Rally Cry: “Please do nothing, Tiger babies!”
Are you afraid that Chris or Spectrum Scott won’t like you? Are they with you now?
Just your mom is with me Serge … and she said to tell you bring home some bananas and rice ….
She is reportedly in Hell. Be good to each other.
MLB inevitable implosion it was fun while it lasted🤦🏻♂️
The AL Central is ruining baseball.
Seattle’s GM said the goal is to win 87-89 games for a solid decade. That makes you a perennial contender with a consistent chance to break through. Social media hammered him, but that’s what Cleveland and some others do well.
No team from the Central will ever win the World Series again. We’ve realized this and become fine with it, because the alternative is to have dumb hope. We’re happy to watch good baseball and enjoy the sport but, here is Kansas City, we’ve switched to the NFL because we at least have the opportunity to win. MLB is dying.
Buh-bye then if you are switching to the NFL!
You think we have to choose between the two? MLB is definitely losing the battle for sports viewership though. Growing up, they were king by a large stretch. Everyone has caught them because of stupid decisions they’ve made. I’m sure Lions viewership eclipses Tigers.
And who cares exactly? Would it be a crisis for the sport if there were fewer $60m ballplayers and parking didn’t cost $50 and beers didn’t cost $25?
Wake me up when it matters to me how many people watch the World Series.
I pay $150 a year for every game in my living room on huge screen. Why pay that same $150 amount to sit with a bunch drunks, when I have all the comforts of home. Lots of times 3 games a day. Without the hassle.
It’d be nice to have some hope at the beginning of the season that your team has a shot at the World Series. More than half the fans don’t have that view on opening day. At this point, most people in the AL Central know this and are resigned to it. So, “who cares exactly” is probably right. We like to watch baseball. Winning isn’t part of that and we have that expectation.
No. They gonna let last place team in east division to go to playoffs instead
This article aged poorly after what Detroit did last night. Also, there shouldn’t be a comma between “and” and “this winter.”