With the Two Highest Payrolls in Baseball, Dodgers and Mets Are Banking on Big Spending to Deliver a Championship
In the high-stakes world of Major League Baseball, financial firepower has always been a factor, but never more so than now. As the 2025 season progresses, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have separated themselves from the rest of the league in more ways than one. Atop the payroll rankings, these two historic franchises are spending at unprecedented levels, committed to the idea that a championship can be bought—or at least heavily financed. Their massive payrolls, exceeding even the next richest teams by wide margins, have made them the focus of both admiration and criticism, as the rest of baseball watches to see whether this financial gamble will pay off.
The Dodgers, long considered a model franchise in the modern era, are no strangers to large payrolls. But even by their standards, 2025 has taken things to new heights. Their roster is a blend of homegrown stars, savvy trades, and most notably, high-priced free-agent acquisitions. Shohei Ohtani, signed to a record-setting deal last offseason, has become the face of this financial juggernaut. His combination of power hitting and elite pitching—when healthy—makes him one of the rarest commodities in baseball history. Alongside Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers now feature three MVP-caliber talents who are all earning top-tier salaries.
Then there’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese ace who chose Los Angeles over several other suitors. His contract only added more zeroes to an already jaw-dropping payroll. Add in the likes of Walker Buehler, Will Smith, and other core players either signed or extended for big money, and the Dodgers are pushing well past the $300 million mark. Their approach has always been to blend development with strategic splurging, but in recent years, the pendulum has swung firmly toward spending. The expectation is clear: World Series or bust.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, the New York Mets have approached their roster construction with the urgency of a team desperate to win now—and the wallet of an owner who can afford to dream big. Steve Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund manager who purchased the team in 2020, has not been shy about flexing his financial muscle. Determined to deliver a title to Queens, Cohen has greenlit massive expenditures, reshaping the Mets’ roster into one of the most expensive in baseball history.
The Mets’ payroll includes star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who was extended shortly after arriving via trade, as well as marquee additions like pitcher Kodai Senga and slugger Pete Alonso, who is playing under a lucrative new deal. Although the team parted ways with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, their dead money remains on the books, contributing to the bloated payroll. New York has also invested heavily in depth—something that often goes overlooked in discussions about spending. From veterans off the bench to multi-million-dollar bullpen arms, the Mets have poured money into every aspect of the roster.
While the two teams share the distinction of topping the payroll rankings, their paths to this point differ in key ways. The Dodgers have built a pipeline of talent through their farm system, often bringing players up through the ranks before deciding whether to pay to keep them. This foundation of development has allowed them to supplement their core with expensive stars without having to replace entire rosters via free agency. The Mets, on the other hand, have leaned more heavily on external acquisitions, attempting to accelerate a rebuild that stalled under previous ownership. Cohen’s philosophy has been to spare no expense in pursuit of success, even if it means overpaying to change the team’s culture.
Critics of big spending argue that it creates an uneven playing field. In a league without a salary cap, small-market teams often find themselves unable to compete financially with the likes of the Dodgers and Mets. Yet the counterargument is compelling: These teams are simply using the resources available to them. They are also subject to luxury tax penalties, which grow increasingly punitive the more a team exceeds the competitive balance threshold. In essence, they are taxed for their spending, and still they spend.
Whether the money leads to titles remains to be seen. The Dodgers have won just one World Series during their recent decade of dominance, in the shortened 2020 season. Since then, they’ve frequently entered the playoffs as favorites only to fall short in October. The Mets, despite their spending spree, have little to show for it in terms of postseason success. Injuries, underperformance, and bad luck have all played a role, but the expectations that come with such high payrolls make those excuses feel thin.
What’s clear is that financial muscle alone doesn’t guarantee a championship. Baseball’s postseason is often unpredictable, with short series decided by slim margins. A team with a lower payroll but elite pitching and timely hitting can knock off a financial heavyweight. But over the course of a 162-game season, depth and talent tend to win out, and that’s where the Dodgers and Mets hope their investment will pay dividends. Their regular-season dominance is almost expected; it’s October that will define their seasons.
The Dodgers and Mets also represent a larger philosophical divide within the sport. Some teams continue to emphasize efficiency and value, seeking to outsmart the market. Others, like the Dodgers and Mets, aim to overpower it. There’s no single path to a championship, but the willingness of these franchises to spend at levels previously unheard of suggests a belief that financial aggression can tilt the odds in their favor.
For players, the impact of these payrolls is profound. Salaries for top-tier free agents have soared, and contract negotiations across the league are being influenced by the numbers set by Los Angeles and New York. Agents now use these megadeals as benchmarks, and players with similar skill sets hope to ride the wave of inflation created by the spending spree. Whether this trend is sustainable long-term is an open question. Luxury taxes are designed to curb runaway payrolls, and collective bargaining agreements could eventually introduce more formal limits.
Fans have responded to the spending in complex ways. Dodgers fans, used to contending year after year, now expect greatness. Anything less than a deep playoff run feels like failure. Mets fans, long accustomed to disappointment, have embraced Cohen’s approach with a mix of excitement and skepticism. The spending has brought attention and relevance, but also pressure. In both cases, the payrolls have raised the stakes—for the front offices, the managers, and the players.
For the league, the existence of financial titans like the Dodgers and Mets is both a blessing and a challenge. They drive interest, dominate headlines, and keep baseball front and center in major markets. But they also highlight the economic disparity within the sport, forcing conversations about fairness, revenue sharing, and competitive balance. Small-market clubs like the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians have had to innovate and adapt, often fielding competitive teams at a fraction of the cost.
There’s also a looming sense of what happens if the spending doesn’t produce a championship. In New York, failure to make the playoffs—or an early exit—would reignite questions about strategy and leadership. In Los Angeles, another October disappointment would fuel narratives about a team that can’t finish. The money buys margin for error in the regular season, but it also brings with it an unforgiving spotlight.
As the 2025 MLB season unfolds, all eyes remain on the Dodgers and Mets. They are the standard-bearers for a new era of spending, where the question is no longer can you spend big, but should you. Their fates will offer answers—not just about their own futures, but about the future of team-building in baseball. In a sport still grappling with its economic identity, Los Angeles and New York are taking bold, expensive steps into uncharted territory, betting that the biggest payrolls will bring the biggest prize.
