With VERY rich teams like the Mets and Dodgers (there are more, but these two teams are prime examples) seemingly having a monopoly on the FA market, it feels like they steal all the top free agents from middle/low market teams. And these big market teams don’t plan on stopping. So, with a potential lockout in 2027, tensions are on the rise between the commissioner and players like Bryce Harper, raising the question: Should the MLB implement a salary cap?
Student Opinion
Before I get into the meat of this article, I decided to ask Jesuit student Henry Jiede ’27 what he thought of the controversial topic of a salary cap in MLB. Here is what he had to say:
“the mlb needs one because the wealthy teams are taking advantage of something not every mlb team has.”
Talent Distribution
One of many problems with no salary cap is that teams can sign whoever they please for hundreds of millions of dollars as long as they are rich enough to suffer the tax, like the Dodgers and Mets. This creates an imbalance in competition and the issue of talent hoarding throughout the league as all the talented players (Soto, Yamamoto, Ohtani, etc.) go to the same 3 teams. With the salary cap, it would allow different teams to sign superstar players which could help grow the game locally within the city who signs said superstar. Additionally, it can help balance the game as we are starting to see the same teams go far into the postseason.
Moneyball
You have heard about the 2002 Oakland Athletics or seen the movie Moneyball. This will give you an idea of what I’m talking about. For context, the 2002 Oakland Athletics were a 103-59 team with just a $40,004,167 payroll who also won 20 straight in the regular season. The General Manager at the time, Billy Beane, was able to field a competitive roster not by signing well-known names, but by looking at the stats. So, with this salary cap, rich teams can’t just throw money at big name players but instead they can find the niche players within the margins which can help create more careers as players will be given second chances.
For a more modern example, Peter Bendix, President of Baseball Operations for the Miami Marlins, has used this exact strategy. In the 2024 offseason, Peter Bendix made these under-the-radar moves like trading for RHP Tyler Phillips from the Phillies for cash, claiming RHP Ronny Henriquez from waivers, and claiming SS Otto Lopez off waivers. All of these players weren’t seen as key pieces for teams like the Phillies (Tyler Phillips), Twins (Ronny Henriquez), and Giants (Otto Lopez), but are now key players for the Marlins as they look towards 2026 (I will be writing an article in March about this). Tyler Phillips has become a viral star for showing his emotions on the baseball field by slapping himself while posting a 2.78 ERA and 159 ERA+. Ronny Henriquez is now a strikeout machine for the Marlins and is an elite high leverage arm, posting a 2.22 ERA, 199 ERA+ and 98 strikeouts, which was 6th in the entire league for relievers. Finally, Otto Lopez has the second highest WAR among Marlins at 3.5.
Players vs. Rob Manfred vs. Lockout
On July 28th, 2025, Rob Manfred visited the Phillies for his annual, separate meetings with all 30 teams. However, the meeting would take a dramatic turn when Bryce Harper told Rob Manfred to “get…out of our clubhouse” and how “players aren’t afraid to lose 162 games” in regard to the salary cap, in which Rob said that he was “not going to get…out of here.” To make matters worse, after the altercation, a “deputy” of Rob Manfred threatened Harper saying “don’t ever say that again to the commissioner. Don’t ever disrespect him again publicly like that. That’s how people end up in a ditch,” (Source: sbnation). This single altercation between Bryce Harper and Rob is a huge problem.
The CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) is a contract with the MLB and MLBPA (Major League Baseball Player Association) that usually lasts five years. If the contract expires and there is no deal between the MLB and MLBPA, there is a baseball lockout. A lockout prevents baseball teams from doing basically anything within the sport. This means no more baseball can be played, teams can’t make roster moves, players can’t get paid and fans become upset due to a lack of baseball. In 2026, the CBA made in 2022 expires. This is huge because this means that players and the league will have a hard time coming to a deal due to expansions and other topics, but most importantly, the salary cap. The MLBPA will say to the MLB that the players don’t want a cap so they can be paid more, like Bryce Harper. The MLB will say that they want a salary cap, and if you have two sides that are stubborn and can’t reach an agreement, there is an issue. It is so much of an issue that the 2027 baseball season is in jeopardy, and we might not get 2027 baseball.
My Opinion
If it wasn’t clear already, I want a salary cap in the MLB. I think the sport would be much healthier with a salary cap and it can even grow the game and bring more revenue to different teams. However, I also believe in a salary floor. Let’s go back to the Miami Marlins. With the salary floor, owners like Bruce Sherman (who owns the Marlins) would actually have to spend money with a salary floor, also creating a more competitive sport. But with no floor or salary cap, you have small market teams not trying to compete and you have big market teams stealing all the talent because they can just throw money at players because they are just so wealthy. Regarding the players, they are going to have to deal with the salary cap. They will still have generational wealth, and if they have the talent, they should be fine.
Stay tuned into The Roundup for more sports opinion pieces!
Thank you to baseballrefrence.com for baseball statistics used in this article.
