Yankees, Dodgers Have Highest 2020 MLB Payrolls, Cubs, Red Sox Among Biggest Spenders In Baseball

The World Series favorites for the 2020 MLB season are also the biggest spenders in baseball. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have the league’s top payrolls on Opening Day.

The Yankees lead all 30 clubs with a $113,955,507 payroll for the 60-game schedule, according to Spotrac. Before the coronavirus pandemic halted the start of the season and forced MLB to trim more than 100 games from the schedule, New York was set to pay its players over $250 million for the season.

Gerrit Cole was the biggest free-agent signing of the offseason, inking a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in December. He’s MLB’s second-highest-paid player with a $13.33 million adjusted salary. Giancarlo Stanton is second on the team with a $9.63 million salary.

As for the Dodgers, they are first in the National League with a payroll of $105,539,398. Los Angeles had been set to pay north of $222 million in player salaries for a 162-game season.

Clayton Kershaw is the highest-paid Dodger with a salary of $16.3 million. Mookie Betts, whom Los Angeles acquired in the offseason’s biggest trade, will earn $10 million in the final year of his contract.

David Price was also sent to the Dodgers along with Betts from the Boston Red Sox, but the pitcher has opted-out of playing in 2020 because of coronavirus concerns.

The Chicago Cubs are a distant third in MLB with an $89,139,148 payroll. The Red Sox are fourth at $83,188,052.

Boston and Chicago had the top payrolls last season. Both teams missed the playoffs. The Red Sox’s $225,183,602 payroll on 2019 Opening Day would have been $83,401,334 for a 60-game season.

After falling just short of winning their second World Series in three years, the Houston Astros are fifth in baseball with an $81,431,213 payroll. The defending champion Washington Nationals rank 12th at $66,882,689.

The Baltimore Orioles are at the bottom of the league with a $23,500,614 payroll.