Owners concerned, but also partially to blame
As the Blue Jays, Padres, and Phillies push their payrolls beyond $240 million, competitive balance is a growing concern among some owners. John Henry is among them.
“I believe the vast majority of players, agents, and clubs dislike baseball’s economic system,” the principal owner of the Red Sox told Boston Sports Journal in an e-mail.
Henry, who also owns the Globe, is in position to address the situation. He is one of the owners on an economic reform committee assembled by Major League Baseball.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this month that a minimum payroll would be one way to address disparity. Left unsaid is such a measure would likely be paired with a payroll ceiling, something the Players Association would never accept.
Henry is partially to blame for what now worries him.
Having grown tired of losing, Henry hired Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations in 2015 and gave him a mandate to win.
By 2018, the team’s payroll climbed 20 percent to $239.5 million, the highest in the game, after Dombrowski acquired Craig Kimbrel, J.D. Martinez, David Price, Chris Sale, and other stars.
It worked. The Sox won 108 games and rolled to a World Series title.
Other owners took note. Under Peter Seidler, the Padres have jumped their luxury-tax payroll 88 percent in the last five years. The Padres are a small-market team with big dreams.
“We’re here to win a title. That’s what I expect. I don’t spend too much time, if any, thinking about what other people are thinking,” Seidler said.
“Truly, I care about what we’re thinking in this room in San Diego. To me, it just feels great. We believe we have a great chance to go after that trophy and to deliver San Diego its first parade.”
Steve Cohen purchased the Mets late in the 2020 season. Their payroll has climbed by 92 percent since, to a whopping $370.5 million.
“I was a little surprised that the prices had gone up for players more than I would have guessed, so it’s a fluid situation,” Cohen said.
“But I’m really pleased with how it turned out. We had a lot of free agents and a lot of people to replace, so it really turned out well. I am really excited by this team.”
Edward Rogers, whose company owns the Blue Jays, has approved of an 89 percent hike since 2019.
The Phillies have raised their payroll 28 percent since 2019, to a team-record $246.2 million.
Like Henry, Phillies owner John Middleton hired Dombrowski to run his team and approved of high-priced additions such as Kyle Schwarber and
Trea Turner. Middleton is unabashed in his desire to bring a championship to Philadelphia.
“How much did the ’27 Yankees make? Or the ’29 A’s? Or the ’75-76 Big Red Machine. Does anybody know? Does anybody care?” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Nobody knows or cares whether any of them made any money or not. And nobody cares about whether I make money or not.
“If my legacy is that I didn’t lose any money owning a baseball team on an annual operating basis, that’s a pretty sad legacy. It’s about putting trophies in the cases.”
Henry has put four trophies in the case during his tenure with the Sox. His legacy is secured. Whatever happens next, he’s the best owner the Red Sox have ever had.
Cohen, Middleton, Rogers, and Seidler have no trophies. Can you blame them for following Henry’s 2018 blueprint?
The Mets (1986), Phillies (2008), and Blue Jays (1993) have gone generations since winning the World Series. The Padres have never won.
Ask fans in those cities if they’re concerned about payroll imbalance.
The Yankees outbidding the Giants for
Aaron Judge was a good thing for baseball. Teams should not feel star players are an impediment to success, as the Red Sox did with Mookie Betts.
Rockies owner Dick Monfort, whose team has finished fourth or fifth in nine of the last 12 seasons, sees aggressive owners as a problem.
“That puts a lot of pressure [on the Rockies],” Monfort said at a fan event in January. “But it’s not just the Padres, it’s the Mets, it’s the Phillies This has been an interesting year.
“What the Padres are doing, I don’t 100 percent agree with, though I know that our fans probably agree with it. We’ll see how it works out.”
Owners who want to win aren’t the problem. They should be celebrated for drawing attention to the sport.
Teams such as the Rockies, Athletics, Orioles, Marlins, Pirates, Reds, and Royals are the real problem because they’re comfortable not winning.
Henry fired Dombrowski in 2019 and the payroll has dropped by nearly $36 million since as Chaim Bloom steers toward what he believes will be sustainable success.
The Red Sox have finished last in two of the last three seasons and are projected to miss the playoffs again.
History tells us Henry will grow impatient if the Sox continue to lose and make changes. But this time, there will be more competition.