MLB, players association’s divide on salary cap could ‘hurt the fans the most’

Simply put, one side wants a salary cap, the other does not.

That was the crux of the issue Tuesday when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association interim executive director Bruce Meyer spoke with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

There are a number of other issues that have been brought to the table in ongoing collective bargaining agreement proposals from both sides, but fixing the amount of money teams can pour into their respective payrolls will be the decisive factor when brokering a deal to avoid a work stoppage in 2027.

The odds of avoiding said stoppage, to be blunt, are not good.

Which is a shame, considering Manfred and Meyer both agreed about the state of MLB being increasingly popular in terms of television ratings, attendance and fan interest. Which is why Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale cringed at the prospect of ruining the good thing MLB has going.

“Without getting too deep into it, or, you know, too political or anything, I just really hope there’s a way to get it done,” Sale said about the negotiations. “There’s been a lot of momentum. I think baseball’s as good as it’s ever been. The player exposure, the fan interaction, I think everything has, since I’ve been in the big leagues (in 2010), it’s just continued to get better and better every year.

“The product on the field is as good as I’ve ever seen it. And you’d just hate to lose that momentum. It’s going to hurt the fans the most. They’re the full reason we’re here. If the fans stop showing up, there’s no more baseball.”

Sale is part of a Braves payroll that is the sixth-highest in baseball, according to Spotrac. The Braves are not among the company of clubs trying to keep their heads above water as it relates to competitiveness — or, to be more precise, consistent competitiveness.

That is part of Manfred’s position: While teams like the Marlins, White Sox, Rays and Brewers might be in the postseason hunt in 2026, they are not likely to sustain that success over time like, say, the Dodgers and Yankees have recently. A salary cap would theoretically create a competitive balance and a world in which all teams before the start of every season have “hope” (Manfred’s word) they can make a run toward a championship.

“The data in our sport is stark. Your opportunity to make the playoffs if you are a larger market team is dramatically higher, and your opportunity to proceed to the subsequent rounds, that advantage grows with each round,” Manfred said. “I do believe that a big piece of this issue is the perception, and it’s why I use the word ‘hope’ that exists at the beginning of the year.

“When you’re out there selling season tickets, and you’re sitting in a small market, good players are moving somewhere else, your team is standing pat, your team’s going to have dramatically less resources to put a good team out in the field — that robs people of hope, and we need to do something about that.”

There was a bit of public outcry in January when the Dodgers signed outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract, giving an already stacked roster more firepower toward winning a third straight World Series. And right on schedule, the Dodgers (61-36) have the best record in baseball and an 11 1/2-game lead in the NL West.

But the mighty Dodgers are actually second in total payroll behind the Mets (40-57), who have turned out to be one of MLB’s worst teams. Two other top-10 payroll clubs, the Padres (48-48) and Astros (47-51), are not exactly world-beaters.