As is very clearly seen in not just the sport of baseball but in each and every professional sport, money talks very loudly and clearly when it comes to teams determining their best courses of action moving forward. With the recent trade of Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers that also involved the Minnesota Twins to help make the prospect swapping work, the MLB has some sort of a commitment problem on its hands.
If a franchise like the Red Sox do not feel comfortable with paying a generational talent and one of the top five best players at this moment in the MLB in Betts his going market rate, then what does that say about smaller market franchises and their lack of monetary resources? The Red Sox have frequently been at or near the top of the payroll list among all 30 teams in the league, so for them to not want to commit to Betts for $30+ million per season over 7+ seasons is a very interesting twist that will only change how the league is run.
Of teams to make it to the postseason in 2019, the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins were the only franchises that fielded a below-average payroll, which fell underneath the $138,436,257 mean. As we currently sit in the offseason, the league average actually dropped over $9 million, and of these four teams, only the Twins have jumped above the league-wide average.
Even with growing chances for positive margins due to sponsorship opportunities, ticket and concession price increases, and TV deal extensions, small-market teams are still fighting an uphill battle in a sport that has long been America’s pastime. While money seems to fit in that moniker as well as apple pie and a grill, it is what is driving baseball to become less and less popular, even as the opportunities for integration into kids’ lives increases.
Supported by the influx of youth in its minor and major league ranks, the MLB is relying on the wrong aspects to boost its likeability. If money is what drives them (which is not necessarily a bad thing, it just needs to be hedged with other interests), then that source of money needs to be distributed more evenly across all of its levels, which includes smaller markets and even the minor leagues, which is a completely different story.
With Competitive Balance rounds in drafts helping smaller market franchises get a leg up with an extra selection every draft time, that is not even close to helping close the gap between the big money and little money aspects of the sport.
There are teams, like the four that were previously mentioned, that have successfully maneuvered through money concerns to furnish a competitive-enough roster to make it to the postseason. Take a look at some of the smaller-market franchises that have a chance to join the ranks in October 2020.
Minnesota Twins
This goes to show that a team can make that climb up to the ranks of having a high payroll if their roster is on such a level to justify it. Even as they are situated in the 15th-largest MLB TV market according to Nielsen, the Twins have commonly operated with financial constraints, most of which have helped keep this team under water for over half of the 2010s.
Four seasons, which include 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2019, of above-.500 baseball is all the Twins have to speak for since 2010, which demonstrates the inconsistencies that this team has been troubled by. Gone are the days of Joe Mauer and Ron Gardenhire, and in are the days of Jose Berrios and Josh Donaldson, as well as manager Rocco Baldelli.
Their winter addition of Donaldson demonstrates their intentions of truly competing, and for more than just a divisional crown; their involvement as the third team in the Betts deal with the Dodgers, which saw them acquire starting pitcher Kenta Maeda for flamethrowing prospect Brusdar Graterol, paints an even clearer picture of how good they actually think this team is.
Building upon the blocks of Berrios, Max Kepler, Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, and Taylor Rogers, among others, the Twins added Rich Hill and Homer Bailey (as well as Maeda) to their rotation, as well as Donaldson and Alex Avila to their positional player ranks.
Their chances at repeating as the American League Central division champs are high, especially with the flux that the Cleveland Indians are currently in, as well as how the Chicago White Sox still need to find who they truly are after having a very expensive offseason.
Outside of a few additions at this July’s trade deadline, the roster that the Twins currently have looks to be what they will run out there for 2020, which is not a bad thing at all.
Tampa Bay Rays
Having been dead last in payroll last year sitting just over $60 million in salary, the Tampa Bay Rays have been riding the small-market outlooks for many years, with a surprising amount of success. Player development and small additions have fueled this team to the playoffs, even if they have struggled to make much of an impression there.
Fighting against the likes of the New York Yankees and Red Sox in the East, the Rays have made a name for themselves as the pesky little brother that just will not go away, which is perfectly fine with the organization. Even as one of their top front-office members was just snatched away by the Houston Astros in their damage-control part of the offseason, they have built themselves up in all the right ways, and the on-field product has been catching up with the off-field product on a quick basis.
Led by 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, the Rays have developed the vast majority of their roster through smart signings and drafting. Their trade of incumbent ace Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the day that the trade deadline ended in 2018 has continued to reap dividends for the Rays, as outfielder Austin Meadows made his first career All-Star Game appearance, and starter Tyler Glasnow has become one of the sturdiest arms in the Rays’ rotation.
Their acquirement of outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Jose Martinez this offseason was a big step into bringing in some sources of power for this team, which has relied on Ji-Man Choi and Kevin Kiermaier to prove the long ball. Out is Avisail Garcia, who signed with the Brewers this offseason, and his production should easily be replicated – if not passed – by both Renfroe and Martinez.
Fighting to make the playoffs in the AL is always a difficult task, and even though the Rays have been successful at doing that as of late, their invite to the October ball mostly relies on the strengths of this team – cheap talent and player development.
Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe will need to develop into that sweet up-the-middle combination that everyone hoped they could be, and 2020 will be the perfect year for that combination to come together. Their external acquisitions of both Renfroe and Martinez will help spread some of the offensive pressure around, which is what will help this team in being successful.
The lone new entrant on this list, the San Diego Padres play in the 29th-largest media market in the United States; however, if their 2020 season is finally when they put everything together, a lot more out-of-market households will be keeping up with this MLB franchise.
They dominated the headlines last offseason with their somewhat-surprising signing of Manny Machado to be their starting third baseman for the next 10 seasons, at $30 million a pop. For a team that had just committed serious money to first baseman Eric Hosmer (eight years, $144 million) the offseason prior, they seemed to be telling the entire league that they were ready to compete.
70-92 represents a struggle, obviously, to compete, but for the Padres, their record only put them 15 games back of second place, which was held by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019. While Arizona should experience a regression in 2020, the Padres have had at least a full season of their core playing together, which may help them jump the Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies for second place.
Chris Paddack leads the team’s rotation into battle every fifth day, supported by Garrett Richards and Cal Quantrill, among others. Kirby Yates still is closing games for this team, newly-signed lefty Drew Pomeranz has a starter – reliever pedigree to him now after last season, and the likes of Javy Guerra, Luis Perdomo, and Craig Stammen all will be counted on for key innings from the bullpen.
A Machado – Francisco Tatis Jr. – Jurickson Profar – Hosmer third to first base lineup has a ton of promise to it, as long as Machado stays hitting, Tatis Jr. stays healthy, Profar regains his top-prospect skillset, and Hosmer remains a threat from the left side. Francisco Mejia Jr. as the team’s starting backstop, with Austin Hedges backing up, makes it one of the strongest areas of their roster, and even though they shipped out Renfroe to the Rays, they received outfielder Tommy Pham, which will help fill Renfroe’s gap, next to Manuel Margot and Wil Myers.
General Manager A.J. Preller, who just hired first-time manager Jayce Tingler to lead the Friars, is needing a good-results season to help justify the recent large acquisitions he has made, and if the roster continues its rise like it has over the past few seasons, then a Wild Card berth in the National League is not out of the question, although it will be a huge jump from their 22 games under .500 last year.
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