Guardians payroll breakdown: How Cleveland compares to big-spending Yankees, Dodgers and Mets in MLB playoffs
It's not surprising to see the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets are three of the final teams remaining in the hunt for the 2024 World Series. That's what happens when you have an ownership group willing to shell out the big bucks, going out to acquire the best talent available and handing out blank checks to bring in those elite players.
However, the fourth team still in the race this October is a squad that has one of the lowest payrolls in the sport ? the Guardians.
Cleveland is playing its own version of "Moneyball" this fall, operating with one of the lowest budgets for contracts in the league, yet the team remains one of the most consistently successful in baseball. The Guardians are on the verge of reaching the World Series for the first time since 2016, with the hopes of winning the franchise's first championship since 1948.
The Guardians' 75-season championship drought is the longest in the MLB. Since then, Cleveland has reached the World Series four times ? 1954, 1995, 1997 and 2016 ? however, the team has fallen short of a title each and every Fall Classic.
Led by star infielder Jose Ramirez and standout closer Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians are hoping to buck that trend in 2024. First, they will have to get through the mighty Yankees in the ALCS, and then that would set up a World Series against the victor of the Mets and Dodgers, two teams that are willing to break the bank to win.
Here is how the Guardians' payroll compares to the Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.
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Guardians payroll breakdown
The Guardians' payroll pales to a majority of those in the major league, but when it comes to comparing it to the ones for the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets, it's like the equivalent of David going up against three Goliaths.
Cleveland's total 2024 payroll comes in at roughly $106.4 million, according to Spotrac. That ranked 23rd in the MLB and 11th out of the 12 teams that made the playoffs. Only the Tigers had a lower payroll this season, coming in at $98.5 million.
Meanwhile, the two New York squads and Los Angeles all rank within the top five of highest payrolls in 2024. The Mets are first with $317.8 million, the Yankees are second at $309.4 million and the Dodgers are fifth at $241.1 million, according to Spotrac.
Team 2024 Total Payroll MLB Rank Mets $317,777,899 1st Yankees $309,434,607 2nd Dodgers $241,010,117 5th Guardians $106,445,407 23rd
Now, fans of those clubs will argue that they are paying money to players who are either injured or are retaining money on players who are now on other teams. But that doesn't change the story when it comes to the playoff payrolls.
Even when you cut the total salaries to just the active, 26-man rosters for each team for the ALCS and NLCS, the story remains the same. The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers make up three of the top-six spots on the payroll list. Meanwhile, the Guardians actually drop down even lower, going from 23rd in the league to 25th.
The Yankees are first in payroll out of the active rosters with $260.2 million, the Mets have a playoff payroll that ranks third at $186.5 million and the Dodgers are sixth at $171.9 million, according to Spotrac. The Guardians boast one that is at a measly $50.8 million.
Team Active Playoff Roster Payroll MLB Rank Yankees $260,231,924 1st Mets $186,528,021 3rd Dodgers $171,997,739 6th Guardians $50,835,031 25th
Cleveland has just one player making more than $10 million this season. It won't come as a surprise that that number belongs to Ramirez, who has a salary of $17 million for 2024. The next highest-paid player is first baseman Josh Naylor at $6.5 million.
In comparison, the Yankees have eight players making over $10 million ? Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. Judge's salary of $40 million alone nearly makes up Cleveland's entire playoff budget.
The Mets have nine players earning over $10 million and the Dodgers have six.
In a league run by successful high-spenders, Cleveland has proved year after year that you don't need a big bank account to find success in baseball. In the last decade, the franchise owns the fourth-highest win percentage despite operating at a lower cost than most other upper-echelon teams.
The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers are expected to win with the massive contracts they hand out to acquire the big-name talent. That's not the case in Cleveland, but the Guardians have just as good of a shot as those three at winning the World Series this October.
