Robinson Cano's loss of approximately $11.7M attributed to the drop in payroll spendingGETTY IMAGES
Spending on MLB payrolls "dropped last season for the first time" since '10, and the $18M decrease is "attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. Teams "combined to spend" $4.23B on MLB payroll last year following a '17-18 offseason with a "weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher." Mets 2B Robinson Cano lost about $11.7M and White Sox C Welington Castillo approximately $3.5M after "positive drug tests." Astros P Roberto Osuna's "domestic violence suspension cost him" roughly $2.1M and former MLBer Colby Rasmus retired and walked away from about $1.5M. The Red Sox had the "highest payroll for the first time since the free-agent era started" in '76 at $230M. In a sign of "increasing parity, a record 24 teams" had $100M payrolls, and the Red Sox figure was the "lowest for the top big league payroll" since '12. The Dodgers "dropped to fourth" at $196M after "leading the major leagues for four straight years." The Rays had the "lowest payroll for the first time" since '07, at $75.1M, finishing $92,526 below the White Sox (AP, 1/8).
REIGNING CHAMPS: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes the Red Sox will go into the '19 season with the "highest payroll again." The Red Sox were "willing to at least listen to offers this winter" for CF Jackie Bradley Jr., P Rick Porcello and SS Xander Bogaerts, but "wound up keeping them." They lost P Joe Kelly to free agency, and P Craig Kimbrel "remains an unsigned free agent." A year from now, P Chris Sale, DH J.D. Martinez, Porcello and Bogaerts are "eligible for free agency." Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said, "Ownership has been great, but we can’t keep them all. We’re going to have to make some hard decisions" (USA TODAY, 1/9).
