NEW YORK – Payroll in Major League Baseball fell from $ 4,222 to $ 1,750 million last season, cut by the pandemic. And the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series, posted the highest mark with $ 98.6 million.
The amount spent by the Dodgers was the lowest in 20 years for the team with the highest wages.
Base salaries for 40-player payroll fell to $ 1.54 billion, according to information sent to teams by Major League Baseball on Friday and obtained by The Associated Press. The number dropped from the $ 3.99 billion paid in 2019.
The pro rata share of contract signing bonuses totaled $ 120.6 million, slightly down from the previous figure of $ 122.8 million. Accrued bonuses fell from $ 26.9 million to $ 25 million.
Meanwhile, termination fees for extension alternatives not exercised in the contracts totaled $ 58.2 million in 2021. It’s more than double the $ 26.9 million seen for unexercised options in 2020, which was evidence of cost savings amid lost club revenues.
The Dodgers won the World Series for the first time since 1988. They were the highest-wage team, something that had not happened since 2017, when they led the category for the fourth consecutive year.
The highest-wage team total hadn’t been that bad since 2000, when the New York Yankees paid a total of $ 95.3 million.
The Yankees posted a salary of $ 83.6 million this time and were second in this criterion for the second straight season.
In the same city, the New York Mets were third, with $ 83.4 million last season under the Wilpon and Katz families as owners of the club. In the 2019 season, the Mets were in twelfth place on the roster.
This third place was the team’s highest place since finishing second in 2009. The Mets were taken over last month by fund manager Steven Cohen, who wants to increase the payroll for next year.
Houston Astros came fourth with $ 81.4 million, up from eighth place. The Chicago Cubs followed suit, slipping from third place and spending $ 80.6 million.
The San Diego Padres were in sixth place with $ 76.3 million, followed by the Washington Nationals with 76.2 million; Texas Rangers, $ 75.2, and Los Angeles Angels, $ 69.9.