Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are set to face off in a three-game series, marking the most expensive matchup in MLB history due to their combined $800 million payrolls.
- Despite lavish investments including a $765 million signing and multiple high-profile acquisitions, one team continues to struggle with translating financial power into postseason success.
- While both franchises dominate in local TV revenue and star power, their contrasting histories – three recent titles for Los Angeles versus decades of championship drought for New York – highlight the growing gap in competitive results.
The most expensive series in MLB history is set to begin on Monday night. No, not because it’s the most expensive ticket – though that wouldn’t surprise me either – but because it features the two highest payrolls the sport has ever seen: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets, who square off in a three-game set at Chavez Ravine this week.
You'd expect that a collective price tag of more than $1 billion would mean two behemoths squaring off at the top of the standings, especially considering the name brands involved here. And yet, New York and L.A. come into Monday with very different recent histories — and, even more importantly, very different presents.
The Mets’ last World Series appearance came back in 2015, their last title in 1986. Since New York’s last pennant, the Dodgers have won three titles, including the last two in a row. The Mets are spiraling, in the midst of a five-game losing streak; the Dodgers are sitting with the best record in baseball at 11-4. It turns out that, while baseball fans remain convinced that money can buy you anything, but it doesn’t buy championships. New York is learning that the hard way.
How much richer are the Mets, Dodgers than the rest of MLB?
TEAM | Total payroll plus luxury tax |
|---|---|
LA Dodgers | $574,761,817 |
NY Mets | $505,571,601 |
NY Yankees | $413,398,334 |
Philadelphia Phillies | $363,485,765 |
Toronto Blue Jays | $343,911,798 |
Boston Red Sox | $270,195,139 |
San Diego Padres | $258,856,631 |
Chicago Cubs | $249,271,762 |
Atlanta Braves | $247,962,536 |
Detroit Tigers | $239,872,987 |
The Mets and the Dodgers seem to have a wealth no team in MLB can match. Or at least it feels like that when you look at their respective payrolls: Their combined estimated tax bill alone would rank comfortably in the top 10 of all MLB payrolls. All told, when considering luxury tax payments, New York and L.A. payroll have spent more than $1 billion on this year's rosters, as much as the bottom third of the league put together. It's not an exaggeration to say we've never seen money like this in MLB history.
Of course, it's easy to focus on the guys with deep pockets at the top, and indeed, Mark Walter and Steve Cohen are financial titans with a different sort of wealth than many of their peers around the league. But that's just the tip of the iceberg: According to an ESPN story, the Dodgers' local TV deal with SportsNet LA reportedly brings in an estimated $334 million per year, a huge outlier in today's cord-cutting environment.
It also helps when you can have players like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto to generate some fan excitement and get people to show up to the games. Ohtani, in particular, is a one-man revenue-generation machine, already paying off his contract many times over. The smaller-market teams don't get to generate nearly as much as the Dodgers do from media and merch, which compounds their inability to keep pace.
The New York Mets are still waiting on their return on investment
PLAYER | TEAM | SALARY |
|---|---|---|
Juan Soto | NY Mets | $765 million |
Shohei Ohtani | LA Dodgers | $700 million |
Francisco Lindor | NY Mets | $341 million |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LA Dodgers | $325 million |
Kyle Tucker | LA Dodgers | $240 million |
Bo Bichette | NY Mets | $126 million |
The Mets are playing a dangerous game, and it’s not working out for them right now. We're now two years into the David Stearns experience, one that was supposed to throttle back on irresponsible spending and focus on investment in organizational development, yet they’re still in a cycle of falling short of expectations. They’ve gone decades without a championship, and right now even reaching the playoffs feels like a pipe dream. Money can buy a lot, but it can’t buy championships.Â
Juan Soto landed in Queens by way of the Bronx last offseason to the tune of $765 million, spread out over 15 years. But last year the Mets were once again left out of the postseason, and now Soto is dealing with an injury that this already struggling offense could ill afford. No matter how much money the Mets throw around, they can’t close the gap between themselves and the Dodgers.
The Mets even brought in Bo Bichette this offseason and that hasn’t panned out like they’ve wanted. All the Mets are proving by throwing money around is that they have the money to spend and will always be in the mix for top free agents. Heck, they might land them, too. But for some reason, the moment they walk out the clubhouse at Citi Field, things change.Â
Will the Mets ever catch the Dodgers?
In short, yes. At some point, the money will start to show up in the win column and in championships. Winning takes time; the Mets just hired Stearns as their president back in 2024, and there were decades of dysfunction he had to undo. Organizational structure is important, but so is continuity. The Dodgers have had that, as well as an excellent scouting program, so it makes sense why it feels like even when the Mets are on the same financial playing field they can't catch up.
That doesn't mean they won't — even if it takes longer than most Mets fans are willing to wait. Sure, the Dodgers' cheapest top players is still twice as much as the Mets' cheapest top player. They can still catch up, they'll simply need time. It's a whole lot better than being behind financially and competitively.