PRESS BOX: A salary cap isn’t the answer for the MLB

Malachi Keys, Contributing Writer

The MLB offseason has already seen big additions to front-running teams, sparking a constant debate over whether or not a salary cap would benefit the sport.

Many claim that not having a salary cap is ruining the sport, and small market teams have no chance against larger market teams. 

Most notably, this debate has come to the forefront of baseball discussions as four time all-star right fielder Kyle Tucker signed a $240 million contract with the reigning World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The freshly inked Dodger has caused renewed irritation for many MLB fans, only adding fuel to the fire.

However, let’s be honest; complaints over the salary cap are mostly complaints about the Dodgers being able to pay huge names big money in free agency.

A salary cap for the MLB is not coming any time soon, nor should it. Baseball has always been synonymous with America’s favorite pastime, and it has never had a salary cap. 

Fans may argue that parity is better for entertainment value for the MLB; everyone gets a chance. However, they should ask the NBA how that’s going. 

The parody in the NBA mostly has been implemented by the NBA league office and commissioner Adam Silver, who in recent seasons have changed the way the cap is regulated. 

The NBA saw some of its biggest ratings when the NBA Finals matchups were the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers for four consecutive years. 

2018 though, in the last eight seasons there have been eight different NBA champions. The 2025 NBA finals ratings were “historically low,” according to Yahoo Sports.

The MLB, for most of its history, has been headlined by teams in its biggest markets — namely the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. 

Trends show that when larger market teams are better and play in the playoffs and World Series, ratings are typically better. 

For instance, the 2025 World Series game seven between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays was the “most watched MLB game globally in 34 years” according to the MLB. 

The New York Yankees have signed free agents such as Cody Bellinger. Other teams have made notable free agent signings and there has been little noise about it. 

However, the media and fans complain because they see the Dodgers as an imminent threat — having won the previous two World Series. 

Now more than ever, roster reconstruction is about what ownership and front offices are willing to pay players above anything else. 

Forbes recently listed 11 teams that spend half or more of their income on their player payroll and it is exactly the teams one might expect. The Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and other teams that made the playoffs have found themselves on the list.

The Dodgers are not using some bank that other franchises do not have access to. All owners and organizations can go into the luxury tax and do what the Dodgers are doing, but some simply do not want to. That is why we see the discrepancy.

So don’t hate on the Dodgers for making moves that your team won’t.