NEW YORK — San Diego cut payroll by $96 million in the past year, the New York Mets by $50 million and the Los Angeles Angels by $49 million, among nine teams that slashed spending in a tepid free-agent market that sparked player unrest.
Several top free agents — including two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger — remained unsigned into spring training and took shorter-team deals than they anticipated. During spring training this year, a faction of players attempted to oust union negotiator Bruce Meyer in an effort that appears to have failed.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has cited a cyclical market and the reticence of some teams to make commitments with uncertain revenue from regional sports networks. If not for deferred money, the Dodgers’ payroll would be roughly $57 million higher. Shohei Ohtani’s record $70 million salary includes $68 million that won’t be paid until 2034; because that money is discounted to present-day value for the payroll, he counts at just over $28.2 million. Discounting lowers Mookie Betts from $30.4 million to $26.2 million, Freddie Freeman from $27 million to $25.1 million, Teoscar Hernández from $23.5 million to $18.2 million and Will Smith from $16.
Of four players with $40 million salaries, three began the season on the injured list, including Scherzer and Verlander at $43.3 million each. Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, recovering from Tommy John surgery, was tied for third at $40 million with Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.Of 947 players in the major leagues on opening day, 532 had salaries of $1 million or more, 56%, and down from 546 last year.
United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: BurnabyNOW_News - 🏆 14. / 77 Read more »
Source: YahooFinanceCA - 🏆 47. / 63 Read more »