Comparing Dodgers, Yankees & Mets payrolls: Biggest & smallest salary packages

Although fans await one more ALDS result, we know that the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets will be heading to the Championship Series. Three of the biggest names in baseball no doubt, all three of the already-qualified teams have dropped some exorbitant amounts of money in the past few years.

Today, we will be diving deeper into how each of these clubs stack up financially.

Comparing payrolls Yankees, Mets and Dodgers

With an active payroll of approximately $317,778,899, the New York Mets spent the most money in MLB this season. Under the heavy-spending administration of billionaire owner Steve Cohen, the club has surged to the status of the richest team in MLB.

The crown jewel of the Mets' payroll is shortstop Francisco Lindor's ten-year, $341 million deal. Under the terms, Lindor is paid $34.1 million annually, the team's biggest single salary. So far in the postseason, Lindor has hit .259/.382/.481 with a homer and six RBIs.

Somewhat predictably, the New York Yankees have the second-biggest payroll in MLB, at $309,434,607. A large portion of the team's expenditure goes towards Aaron Judge's $40 million salary. Under the captain's 2022 nine-year, $360 million deal, Judge became the highest-paid position player in history.

Gerrit Cole's $36 million salary is second to Judge's. The winner of the 2023 AL Cy Young Award, Cole recently threw seven innings of one-run ball in Game 4 of the ALDS to best the Kansas City Royals.

To arrive at the Dodgers, who hold the fifth-highest payroll in MLB, one has to leapfrog the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies, who spend the third and fourth most amount of money respectively.

LA Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes pledged over $1 billion this offseason to two players - Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Although most of Ohtani's $700 million is deferred until after his career, LA still touts a payroll of $241,010,117.

"Friendly reminder to all the casuals casuals who are out on these Twitter streets harping on about the underdog Mets vs Dodgers Dodgers buying championships: the Mets have the highest payroll in baseball. We are all profligate big market spenders. Let the games begin. Let’s go Dodgers" - Karen Tongson

In addition to Ohtani and Yamamoto, some big deals make the Dodgers' payroll so high. The annual salaries of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez amounts to an $80 million hit annually, while Max Muncy and Will Smith constitute another $20 million between the two of them.