Now that baseball is nearly back, which teams have the highest & lowest MLB payrolls in 2023? Boardroom has all the answers.
MLB Opening Day for the 2023 season is almost here, and the “Steve Cohen tax” brokered in last year’s new collective bargaining agreement to prevent teams like the New York Mets from grossly outspending every other baseball club just flat out didn’t work.
Cohen and the Mets went on a bender of a spending spree in the offseason after the second-highest payroll in 2022, re-signing outfielder Brandon Nimmo (eight years, $162 million), closer Edwin Diaz (five years, $102 million), and reliever Adam Ottavino (two years, $14.5 million), while also inking free agent starting pitchers Justin Verlander (two years, $86.6 million), Kodai Senga (five years, $75 million), and Jose Quintana (two years, $26 million).
The Mets’ starting payroll of $336 million is not just nearly $60 million higher than the second-highest club — the crosstown rival Yankees — but is more than twice the league average payroll of $147 million and more than eight times MLB’s lowest payroll of the Oakland Athletics.
But the lowest payroll teams in 2023 are largely adjusting to the times, with seven of the 10 thriftiest opening day clubs increasing payroll since the 2022 season began. Only nine of the 30 MLB clubs have a lower opening day payroll, but three of those are marquee franchises in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals. The average opening-day payroll increased from just under $135.5 million in 2022 to a little under $148 million in 2023.
With numbers via Spotrac, here are the top and bottom payrolls for the 2023 MLB season, as well as how these figures either grew or shrank compared to 2022.
10 Highest MLB Payrolls 2023
- New York Mets: $336,143,332
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $253,119,999 (+32.8% YoY)
2. New York Yankees: $267,954,047
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $240,290,714 (+11.5% YoY)
3. San Diego Padres: $236,962,024
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $208,772,618 (+13.5% YoY)
4. Philadelphia Phillies: $231,686,189
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $221,738,462 (+4.49% YoY)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers: $217,612,634
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $277,108,333 (-21.47% YoY)
6. Toronto Blue Jays: $206,715,117
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $168,070,905 (+22.99% YoY)
7. Los Angeles Angels: $202,838,094
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $169,413,094 (+19.73% YoY)
8. Atlanta Braves: $190,417,500
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $173,935,000 (+9.48% YoY)
9. Texas Rangers: $182,832,500
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $134,961,333 (+35.47% YoY)
10. Houston Astros: 181,449,999
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $163,939,599 (+10.68% YoY)
10 Lowest MLB Payrolls 2023
30. Oakland Athletics: $40,925,000
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $32,548,334 (+25.74% YoY)
29. Baltimore Orioles: $50,691,666
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $30,221,166 (+67.74% YoY)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates: $60,787,500
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $37,875,000 (+60.5% YoY)
27. Tampa Bay Rays: $64,451,211
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $75,347,813 (-14.46% YoY)
26. Cincinnati Reds: $70,624,500
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $99,580,000 (-29.08% YoY)
25. Cleveland Guardians: $75,010,000
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $42,310,000 (+77.29% YoY)
24. Kansas City Royals: $77,025,000
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $74,110,000 (+3.93% YoY)
23. Washington Nationals: $78,983,095
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $114,623,095 (-31.09% YoY)
22. Miami Marlins: $81,075,000
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $69,000,000 (+17.5% YoY)
21. Arizona Diamondbacks: $103,763,571
- 2022 Opening Day Payroll: $75,993,333 (+36.54%)
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Largest MLB Payroll Increases From 2022 to Opening Day 2023
- Cleveland Guardians: +77.29%
- Baltimore Orioles: +67.74%
- Pittsburgh Pirates: +60.5%
- Seattle Mariners: +39.97%
- Arizona Diamondbacks: +36.54%
- Texas Rangers: +35.47%
- Chicago Cubs: +33.13%
- New York Mets: +32.8%
- Minnesota Twins: +27.69%
- Oakland Athletics: +25.74%
Cleveland signing Josh Bell from San Diego to a two-year, $33 million deal and large arbitration raises for ace Shane Bieber and shortstop Amed Rosario were the main contributing factors behind the Guardians’ $33 million year-over-year payroll increase. Even Baltimore is increasing payroll to support a budding young roster— signing veterans Kyle Gibson and Adam Frazier in addition to taking on a small part of catcher James McCann’s deal in a trade with the Mets— and rebuilding Pittsburgh is doing the same. Seattle is keeping up with its AL West rivals after making the playoffs last year for the first time in 2021, while Texas booted payroll again in a major way after leading this list last season.
Largest MLB Payroll Decreases From 2022 to Opening Day 2023
- Washington Nationals: -31.09%
- Cincinnati Reds: -29.08%
- Los Angeles Dodgers: -21.47%
- Tampa Bay Rays: -14.46%
- Boston Red Sox: -14.18%
- Milwaukee Brewers: -12.79%
- Detroit Tigers: -9.85%
- Chicago White Sox: -4.54%
- St. Louis Cardinals: -2.02%
- Kansas City Royals: +3.93%
With the team rebuilding and also for sale, Washington cut costs significantly over the last year, while Cincinnati continued to pare down its payroll from over $130 million in 2021 to just over $70 million on opening day 2023. While the Dodgers are still expected to contend this season, Trea Turner ($21 million), Justin Turner ($20 million), Cody Bellinger ($17 million), David Price ($16 million), and Craig Kimbrel ($16 million) are veterans who are now off the books. While Boston is expected to take a step back in the AL East, Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis are all expected to compete for division titles despite shedding payroll from a season ago.
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