A definitive list of MLB fanbases that have earned the right to chant 'sell the team'

Boston Red Sox fans are so fed up with their team that they've begun chanting "sell the team" at Fenway Park. While sure, John Henry hasn't always been the best owner in the sport, do I need to remind Red Sox fans that Boston has the sixth-largest luxury tax payroll in the league per Spotrac, and that they spent a substantial amount of money this offseason acquiring veterans like Ranger Suarez, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray?

You can (and should) criticize the moves Craig Breslow made. I understand how frustrating it is to see your team sitting at 2-8, but you can't argue that Breslow didn't have any money to work with. How is it Henry's fault that the team isn't playing well as constructed? Henry has done enough to give Breslow resources to make this team competitive, and I should mention Boston has won four World Series titles under this ownership group. Red Sox fans are spoiled; there's no other way to put it. These fan bases, though, have earned the right to express their frustration with ownership.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Normally, when a team adds veterans of the caliber of Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna and Ryan O'Hearn, fan bases are rather indifferent. These are fine players, but not really needle-movers. For Pittsburgh Pirates fans who have seen Bob Nutting not even attempt to field a competitive team for the better part of his ownership, watching them acquire these veterans felt like a true World Series moment. That goes to show just how incompetent Nutting has been.

To put into perspective how insane this offseason was for the Pirates, O'Hearn was the first free agent the Pirates signed to a multi-year deal since Ivan Nova after the 2016 season. Ivan Nova. 2016. Is that not insane? Pittsburgh's $119.8 million luxury tax payroll is only the 24th highest in the league, but that marks the first time the Pirates have been out of the bottom five in payroll since 2017 - nearly a decade.

The Pirates famously released Rowdy Tellez when he was four plate appearances shy of cashing in on a rather small $200,000 incentive. The Pirates replaced a once-famous Roberto Clemente wall in right field at PNC Park with a Surfside advertisement. The Pirates removed Bucco Bricks from outside of PNC Park seemingly out of nowhere. He's kept Ben Cherington around since the 2019 offseason despite the team not posting a single winning season in his tenure. These are clearly all Nutting calls rooted in his desire to make as much money as possible. Nutting has proven over and over again that he cares more about the bottom line than about team success.

Yes, he deserves credit for finally doing some spending, but even with their second-highest payroll in a decade, Pittsburgh's payroll is still only 24th in the league. The Pirates have Paul Skenes headlining one of the most talented rotations in the sport, and Konnor Griffin is set to lead the way offensively, yet this team refuses to do what it can to maximize on its window to win.

Los Angeles Angels

To his credit, Arte Moreno has spent a lot during his tenure owning the Los Angeles Angels. The Mike Trout extension has not aged very well, but Moreno did hand Trout, the best player in franchise history, one of the richest contracts in sports history. The Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton deals were all disastrous, but again, at least Moreno approved the spending, right? He cared about winning to an extent. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Moreno made it clear this offseason that he believes fans don't care about winning. Just look at this quote courtesy of The Athletic's Sam Blum ($).

“The number one thing fans want is affordability. They want affordability. They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.”

Yes, this is real. According to a survey in which the details have not been revealed, Moreno says winning is not in the top five of concerns among fans. Talk about tone deaf. You really don't think a passionate Angels fan base that hasn't seen its team make the playoffs since 2014 and finish a season with a winning record since 2015 cares about winning? This must explain why the Angels' payroll dipped by roughly $50 million this offseason and ranks in the bottom half of the league despite being a big market team.

Beyond that, can we talk about some other pathetic Moreno decisions? This man refuses to invest in development, and the result of that is prospects being rushed to the majors and one of the worst farm systems in the game annually. He refuses to invest in the organization's facilities (remember when the Angels' air conditioner was broken?) He constantly meddles. Oh yeah, he also refused to pay or trade Shohei Ohtani when given the chance, only to watch him win back-to-back MVP awards and World Series titles with their crosstown rivals. He even faked the Angels fans out when he put the team up for sale only to change his mind soon after, ripping their hearts out in the process. It's all bad, and isn't getting any better anytime soon.

Athletics

You knew he'd be here. What John Fisher did to Athletics fans is a disgrace. Despite a storied legacy in Oakland, Fisher was eager to relocate the team to Las Vegas and went to extremes to ensure it would happen. He refused to spend meaningfully until a plan was in place for the A's to get out of Oakland and into Las Vegas in the future.

Sure, Fisher has spent some money since the A's began playing in Sacramento, but much of their 2025 offseason spending had to do with a looming grievance from the MLBPA if they hadn't spent meaningfully that winter, and their moves in the 2026 offseason were mostly aimed at fielding a team fans would be drawn to in Vegas. They won't even acknowledge that they play in Sacramento by being called the "Athletics" and not the "Sacramento Athletics."

Fisher inexplicably has his team playing in a minor league park by choice, and has proven that he cares about nothing other than his wallet. The A's are a fun up-and-coming team, but the cloud of Fisher's ownership makes it hard to believe they'll ever actually contend, even when (or should I say if) the Vegas move comes to fruition.

Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians are consistently competitive. They've made the playoffs in seven of the last 10 seasons and have posted a winning record in all but two of those campaigns. Unfortunately, the Guardians have made it past the ALDS just twice in the past decade, and have just one pennant and no World Series rings to brag about. They've done enough to get to the playoffs, but haven't gotten over the hump in October. Paul Dolan has a lot to do with that.

Dolan absolutely deserves credit for hiring the right people. He also deserves credit for convincing Jose Ramirez to sign two of the friendliest extensions in the league. Still, the fact that Cleveland has barely spent in the Ramirez era cannot be ignored. Look at their highest-paid players this season.

Ramirez is the only player making over $10 million. Tanner Bibee signed an extension that bought out a couple of his free agency years, but nobody else on this list is under contract past 2026. This list includes Shawn Armstrong, a decent reliever who signed a one-year deal as a free agent, Austin Hedges, a backup catcher, and Rhys Hoskins, a player who signed a minor league deal this offseason. Yes, one of Cleveland's highest-paid players is a guy who wasn't even a lock to make the team.

I get that Cleveland is a small market, and I get that they initially planned on devoting more money to guys like Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, but how is this acceptable? Cleveland might make the postseason in spite of this because of how great they are at developing talent, which, again, Dolan deserves some credit for, but having the second-lowest payroll in the sport fresh off a division title is disgraceful, and unfortunately, something Guardians fans are all too familiar with. Jose Ramirez deserves better, as he's made clear.

Miami Marlins

The only team that is spending less money than the Guardians this season is the Miami Marlins. If you thought Cleveland's 2026 payroll looked bad, take a look at Miami's.

Miami's highest-paid player is Pete Fairbanks, a reliever. Their second-highest-paid player is Sandy Alcantara, a pitcher who seems likely to be traded by July's trade deadline and is only under control through 2027. Their third-highest-paid player is Chris Paddack, a subpar back-end starter who signed a one-year deal. Those are the only players the organization is paying over $3 million to.

The Marlins had a ton of momentum coming off an encouraging 79-win campaign, yet their payroll is lower now than it was in 2025. How is that acceptable? Imagine how fun they'd be with the emerging core they have and some meaningful additions beyond just Fairbanks.

I get that the Marlins don't attract many fans to the ballpark, and I get that owner Bruce Sherman is one of the poorest in the sport, but it's clear that winning isn't a priority if only $82 million is devoted to payroll. If Sherman doesn't have enough money to spend more (unlikely), the team should be sold.

Minnesota Twins

In the 2023 season, the Minnesota Twins had the 18th-highest payroll in the league at $177.1 million and won their first playoff game and series in two decades. Ever since, things have been disastrous in Minnesota, and their payroll figures have a lot to do with that.

Minnesota's payroll has dipped by over $50 million since its postseason berth, and things are only continuing to go downhill. Minnesota sold half its active roster at the 2025 trade deadline, and while the Twins didn't make many major offseason moves, it feels likely that veterans like Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton will be available at this year's trade deadline, and Pablo Lopez will be on the block when he's healthy.

Even if the Twins hold onto those players, what is the plan here? The Pohlads say they kept Ryan and Buxton so the team could be competitive, but the biggest addition Minnesota made was Josh Bell on a one-year deal. The Pohlads likely want enough talent to sell tickets but not enough to where they'd have to increase payroll, which is a brutal place to be in for any franchise.

As if how things are being run isn't bad enough, the Pohlads are no longer considering selling the team after considering doing so, giving fans even more of a reason to express their frustration.

Colorado Rockies

The Monfort family deserves credit for spending some money despite being among the poorest ownership groups in the sport. I mean, how many organizations would rank 22nd in payroll after a 119-loss season? Not many. While Colorado Rockies fans can't fully blame the Monfort family for spending as much as many of these other fan bases, they can be upset at how the money is spent and some of the decisions this franchise has made.

The most notable of these decisions was the one to sign Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million deal shortly after choosing to trade Nolan Arenado for scraps (while also sending $50 million to the Cardinals in the deal), but there are more mistakes worth highlighting, like extending struggling pitchers like German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatella.

It took the aforementioned 119-loss season for the Rockies to finally make some changes. It took six straight losing seasons and a 7-33 start to 2025 for the Rockies to move on from manager Bud Black. It took five brutal seasons for the Rockies to move on from Bill Schmidt as their primary decision maker of baseball operations. The Monforts' refusal to shake things up when they clearly weren't working is partly why they're in such a bad spot.

Lack of spending is only part of the equation when it comes to the bad owners, and the Monfort family is an example of that.