After telling reporters in February that MLB needed to be “vigilant” about the lack of a salary cap, Rob Manfred is taking a noncommittal stance on the issue.
The MLB commissioner wants to see how the next couple of seasons play out before weighing whether a salary cap should be implemented in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
“We do hear a lot about it from fans, particularly in smaller markets,” Manfred said on FS1’s “The Herd” on Wednesday. “But the reality is we’re two years away from the end of the [bargaining] agreement. We’re just not in a position where we are talking about or have made decisions about what’s ahead in the next round of bargaining. I think that a lot of water is going to go over the dam before we need to deal with that issue.”
MLB’s lack of a salary cap has been a divisive subject for decades, but it has re-emerged as one of the sport’s most debated topics following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ success. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 after signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, with their $353 million luxury tax payroll ranking as the highest in baseball, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Los Angeles’ payroll has only ballooned since its title after the team made several high-profile signings this offseason to bring its luxury tax payroll for the 2025 season up to $401 million.
When he met with reporters following an owners’ meeting in February, Manfred said that the salary cap was an issue the league needs “to pay attention to” moving forward. However, he didn’t blame the Dodgers, saying at the time, “Everything they have done is consistent with our rules.”
The Dodgers aren’t the only team that’s had its payroll skyrocket in recent years. The New York Mets’ luxury tax payroll, which was already one of the league’s highest when they made the NLCS last season, also increased to $326.1 million after signing Juan Soto to a record 15-year, $765 million deal.
The Philadelphia Phillies ($308.5 million), New York Yankees ($306.6 million), San Diego Padres ($268.3 million), Toronto Blue Jays ($268.2 million) and Boston Red Sox ($240.2 million) have the next five largest luxury tax payrolls in baseball, with big markets mostly making up the 10 highest payrolls for the 2025 season.
With high-spending teams having the most success last season, Manfred said that he’s heard the most from small-market fans about the salary cap issue. Even though a few teams from those markets made the playoffs last season — including the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles — Manfred understands that it’s healthier for the sport if large- and small-market teams are able to make deep playoff runs.
Rob Manfred talks Ohtani, odds of salary cap in baseball, Yankees-Dodgers, Golden At-Bat
“You mentioned Detroit and Cleveland — they did a great job last year. I think that it’s important for our smaller markets to do something more than qualify for the playoffs,” Manfred said. “There’s a difference between getting into the first round and going deeper in the playoffs. So, the fact that they got there doesn’t really resolve the issue in my mind.”
Even as the salary cap argument remains unsettled, Manfred has implemented a few different rule changes over the last few years. The pitch clock was introduced in 2023 to speed up the game, with shifts being banned that same season to open up the field of play.
Manfred mentioned a potentially even more radical change earlier this offseason, saying on “The Varsity” podcast that the Golden At-Bat rule has been floated around between owners. That rule would allow teams to pick any player in their lineup to hit out of order once per game.
While that comment seemed to be unpopular among the baseball community, Manfred assured fans that the Golden At-Bat rule is a long way from seeing the day of light, if it ever does.
“If there’s ever going to be a serious conversation about the Golden At-Bat rule, it’s going to have to start with experimentation at the minor league level,” Manfred said. “Probably years of experimentation, because it is one of those rules, while it has the positives, there are complications that would flow from this rule in terms of the play of the game.
“There are a lot of complications with it. I think the best thing to say about the Golden At-Bat rule is it’s a long way away, if ever, from being even considered.”
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