Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick did not say the words “salary cap,” but he expressed hope that collective bargaining will result in a solution to make the game more competitive “from top to bottom.”
Kendrick told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday that he would like baseball to operate with a different financial model as CBA negotiations are set to commence this spring.
“Right now, it really is clear that we have a group of teams at the bottom and we have some teams at the top,” Kendrick said. “We are in neither of those groups, to be fair. A model that would allow those extremes to not be what they are, I think would be good for the fans, and honestly, I think it would be good for the players.”
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MLB’s labor agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association expires at the end of this year, leading to expectations that a lockout is coming. Revenue disparity will be at the forefront of talks and owners will call for a salary cap, which has never been implemented in baseball. The players are staunchly opposed to the idea.
Instead of a hard cap, MLB imposes taxes on teams that go beyond a threshold, including the Competitive Balance Tax and the “Cohen Tax,” referring to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.
Payroll disparity in baseball is nothing new, but the topic has been front-and-center in recent years with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ and Mets’ increased spending.
The highest projected payroll entering 2026 with the CBT belongs to the Dodgers at $410.7 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The lowest is the Miami Marlins at $83.1 million, nearly five times less. L.A. has deferred significant money recently to add superstars such as Shohei Ohtani, as well.
The Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series, although they were on the brink of elimination in both runs.
Kendrick said he has no ill feelings toward the Dodgers since they are playing by the rules and investing their revenue into payroll. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks were among the top five teams in spending based on revenue last year and expect to be again, as Arizona continued to increase payroll this winter to $223 million.
But the Diamondbacks’ owner suggested remodeling baseball like the NFL, NBA and NHL. He did not specify how so, but those three leagues each have their own versions of a salary cap.
“There’s already some public information out there that if we remodeled how we operate into more like the other three sports operate, it might be better for all,” Kendrick said. “I can’t really get into the details. First, the detail isn’t yet there, and I’m not one of those on the front lines of bargaining, I’m a cheerleader.
“Sometimes you ought to look at what the other guy’s doing and how successful he is being when you look at how you’re doing and how successful you are. Let me just leave it at that.”
The NFL and NHL possess hard caps, while NBA has a soft cap that allows teams to exceed the spending limit in order to re-sign their own players. The NBA has a luxury tax and aprons to punish the highest-spending teams.
MLB owners are bound to argue that a cap would lead to greater competitive balance with small-market teams able to keep up.
The players will argue that a salary cap is anti-labor and lets clubs that don’t spend as much as they could off the proverbial hook.
“Salary caps in the other sports have not led to competitive balance,” newly-selected union leader Bruce Meyer told The Athletic last week. “A salary cap punishes competition, punishes clubs that want to go out and acquire the best players and put the most exciting product on the field for the fans. It gives owners who prefer not to compete an all-purpose excuse not to do so.”
The union has gone through notable change this week with the resignation of Tony Clark as executive director and promotion of Meyer from deputy director as his replacement.
Kendrick called CBA the elephant in the room, and it’s going to be sitting there all year.
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