If you’re a fan of the other 29 MLB teams, you probably let out a collective groan earlier this week.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, already boasting a roster that reads like a National League All-Star ballot, just signed Edwin Díaz to a 3-year, $69 million deal. This comes less than a year after they grabbed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. It’s an embarrassment of riches that highlights the single biggest structural failure in Major League Baseball: the lack of a true salary cap.
I know the counter-argument. We hear it every time this comes up: "Small market owners are just cheap! A cap won't make the Pirates spend money!"
And fair point. But when you look at the raw numbers, the disparity isn't just about being "cheap"—it's about two different leagues playing the same sport.
The $300 Million Gap
Let’s look at the current landscape for the 2025 season.
The Ceiling: The Dodgers are projected to carry a payroll pushing $350 million.
The Floor: The Oakland A’s and Miami Marlins are sitting at roughly $50 million.
That is a $300 million gap. The Dodgers are essentially fielding seven Oakland A’s rosters at once. When one team can spend 700% more than another, "competitive balance" is just a marketing slogan.
The Evidence: 25 Years of Purchased Titles
Defenders of the current system love to point to the outliers. They’ll talk about the 2003 Marlins forever. But I ran the numbers for the last 25 World Series champions, and the trend is undeniable.
If you aren't spending top-tier money, you aren't winning.
| Year | World Series Champion | Payroll Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Los Angeles Dodgers | #1 |
| 2024 | Los Angeles Dodgers(Adjusted for deferred Ohtani money) | #2 |
| 2023 | Texas Rangers | #4 |
| 2022 | Houston Astros | #8 |
| 2021 | Atlanta Braves | #10 |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Dodgers | #2 |
| 2019 | Washington Nationals | #4 |
| 2018 | Boston Red Sox | #1 |
| 2017 | Houston AstrosThe "Tanking Works" outlier | #18 |
| 2016 | Chicago Cubs | #6 |
| 2015 | Kansas City Royals | #13 |
| 2014 | San Francisco Giants | #7 |
| 2013 | Boston Red Sox | #4 |
| 2012 | San Francisco Giants | #8 |
| 2011 | St. Louis Cardinals | #11 |
| 2010 | San Francisco Giants | #10 |
| 2009 | New York Yankees | #1 |
| 2008 | Philadelphia Phillies | #12 |
| 2007 | Boston Red Sox | #2 |
| 2006 | St. Louis Cardinals | #11 |
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | #13 |
| 2004 | Boston Red Sox | #2 |
| 2003 | Florida MarlinsThe last true "low payroll" champion | #25 |
| 2002 | Anaheim Angels | #15 |
| 2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks | #8 |
The Takeaway: Since the 2003 Marlins miracle, zero teams have won the World Series with a payroll in the bottom third of the league. In fact, in the last decade, almost every winner has been a Top 10 spender.
The NFL & NBA Model
Look at the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs are a dynasty, but they have to make hard choices. They can't keep everyone. They have to draft well and let star players walk in free agency because they literally cannot pay them under the hard cap. That churn allows other teams to swoop in and sign talent.
In MLB, the Dodgers don't have to make choices. They can keep their homegrown stars and sign the biggest free agents. They hoard talent. When they sign Edwin Díaz to lock down the 9th inning, that is one less elite closer available for a team like the Tigers or the Orioles that might be one piece away from contention.
The Verdict
You can't have a cap without a floor. This is where my proposal addresses the "cheap owner" problem.
The Cap: Stops the Dodgers from having a $350M payroll.
The Floor: Forces the "Small Market" teams to spend at least $100M.
Right now, we have the worst of both worlds. The rich teams operate in a different stratosphere, and the tanking teams strip their payrolls down to the studs to pocket revenue-sharing checks. A cap-and-floor system squeezes the league into the middle.
We want a league where a team wins because their front office is smarter, their scouts are better, and their development system is superior—not just because their owner's wallet is deeper. Until MLB implements a hard cap, we are just watching a rigged game where the house always has the best odds.