Manfred defended the Royals adjusting their expectations after winning the World Series in '15Getty Images
There were seven MLB teams "on pace to lose at least 106 games" as of Sunday, but what MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred "will not buy is that the 'phenomenon' ... reflects serial tanking and, thus, needs activist intervention by the commissioner" three weeks into the season, according to Joel Sherman of the N.Y. POST. Manfred noted that "members of the dismal seven do not fit the parameters of a tanking team." The Padres, for example, signed 1B Eric Hosmer to the "largest free-agent pact of the offseason" ($144M), while the Orioles "signed Alex Cobb to the third-largest pitching deal" ($57M). Manfred "felt the Royals were mimicking a familiar down cycle after a successful run." The White Sox, conversely, are "going through growing pains of a youth movement." Manfred said, “The reality is we have very few teams’ owners who would tolerate several years of losing to get better.” Manfred said that his 25 years in the game "inform him that the best way to address competitive balance is more of the same -- find ways to 'get enough resources' to low-revenue, small-market and poor-performing teams." He has "not moved off of that based on anything that has occurred yet" (N.Y. POST, 4/24).
NOTHING TO SEE HERE: MLB Network’s Chris Russo said of the Marlins, “Look at how many terrible teams there are in baseball. I counted six walking in today that are just pathetic. ... I don’t care what Derek Jeter tells Bryant Gumbel, this is not a rebuild. Stop, Derek. Stop, stop. They stink, they’re awful, which is understandable. ... We’re not out of April yet, and tell me why you’d want to sit there and watch, anytime this summer, the White Sox, Rays, Marlins, Reds, Orioles, Kansas City? Tell me why?” (“High Heat,” MLBN, 4/23).
AT BOTH ENDS OF THE ACELA EXPRESS: The AP's Ronald Blum noted the Red Sox and Nationals are the "only teams on track to pay baseball's luxury tax this year." The Red Sox' payroll at the "start of the season for purposes of the tax" was $233.9M, which would cause the team to pay a $9.4M tax. The Nationals' payroll was $201M, which would result in a tax of $1.2M. The Giants' payroll was "just below" the $197M tax threshold at $196.66M. The Giants were followed by the Cubs ($183.9M), Astros ($182.4M), Dodgers ($181.99M) and Yankees ($178.8M). The Yankees were over the threshold from '03-17, paying $341M (AP, 4/23).
