The term “moneyball” originated in Major League Baseball (MLB) and put a spotlight on how teams could use advanced analytics to snag undervalued players and build highly competitive rosters on a tight budget. But that doesn’t mean money doesn’t matter in the MLB. In fact, the cash available for roster-building tends to correlate with a team’s standings.
Let’s take a look at which team payrolls are most flush with cash entering the 2024 season of the MLB.
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MLB Payrolls by Team, 2024
So which teams boast the biggest bank account?
First, a few payroll highlights:
- The New York Mets sit at the top with a $311 million total payroll and their addition of J.D. Martinez this offseason for $12 million, but their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees aren’t far behind at $306 million.
- Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole drive the Yankees’ budget.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is the highest paid player at $70 million — a whopping third of the Dodgers’ total payroll. Ohtani’s contract allows for $2 million per year in salary, with an additional $68 million per year deferred until 2034. The team also signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the offseason.
- Despite being close to the league average $164 million for total payroll, the Los Angeles Angels sport two of the highest paid players in third-baseman Anthony Rendon ($38 million) and outfielder Mike Trout ($37 million).
- The World Series defending champion Texas Rangers also have a pair of the highest paid players on their roster: Jacob deGrom and Corey Seager.
- The Rangers also have the highest paid coach, General Manager Bruce Bochy ($11 million). The Chicago Cubs‘ Craig Counsell is in second place at $8 million.
- The Oakland Athletics — the original “Moneyball” teams — sits at the bottom of the list (and last season’s standings) with the lowest payroll of just $62 million.
Also of note: Many of the biggest spenders in 2024 also ended the 2023 season near the top of the standings and made a playoff run, including the Braves, the Astros, the Phillies, the Dodgers and the 2023 champions, the Texas Rangers. That said, the Marlins and the Orioles made playoff runs despite having fewer financial resources.
Here’s the payroll totals for the 2024 MLB season for each of the 30 teams.
| Team | Payroll |
| New York Mets |
$311M |
| New York Yankees | $306M |
| Houston Astros | $249M |
| Philadelphia Phillies | $245M |
| Texas Rangers | $232M |
| Atlanta Braves | $229M |
| Toronto Blue Jays | $227M |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | $225M |
| Chicago Cubs | $225M |
| San Francisco Giants | $197M |
| Boston Red Sox | $177M |
| St. Louis Cardinals | $176M |
| Los Angeles Angels | $169M |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | $166M |
| San Diego Padres | $160M |
| Seattle Mariners | $142M |
| Colorado Rockies | $142M |
| Chicago White Sox | $134M |
| Minnesota Twins | $128M |
| Kansas City Royals | $115M |
| Washington Nationals | $109M |
| Detroit Tigers | $106M |
| Milwaukee Brewers | $104M |
| Cincinnati Reds | $102M |
| Cleveland Guardians | $100M |
| Baltimore Orioles | $100M |
| Tampa Bay Rays | $98M |
| Miami Marlins | $96M |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | $84M |
| Oakland Athletics | $62M |
Whether all of that money catapults the high rollers to the top of the standings and the 2024 playoffs or some of the more cash-strapped teams can surge despite the lower spend remains to be seen.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which MLB team has the highest payroll in 2024?
The New York Mets have the highest payroll of any MLB team this season.
Which MLB team has the lowest payroll in 2024?
The Oakland Athletics have the lowest payroll this season.
Who is the highest paid MLB player?
Shohei Ohtani, who will be paid a total of $70 million per year for 10 years by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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