MLB salary cap proposal would be delayed until 2028, 8 teams would cut payroll

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Major League Baseball proposed Tuesday, Nov. 3 that a salary cap would be delayed by a year and implemented in 2028, permitting teams to operate knowing what the proposed rules would be in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.

MLB proposed a $258.2 million salary cap and a $180.2 million floor, with MLB projecting that it would require 12 teams to increase payroll by $636 million to reach the floor, and eight clubs to decrease their payroll by $528 million to abide by the cap. MLB says that would net an additional $108 million payroll increase league-wide.

The MLB Players Association has yet to issue a formal response, but the reaction continues to be vehemently opposed to anything that includes a salary cap, whether it’s next year or in the future, citing that the 2027 season would still limit spending since the CBT thresholds would remain unchanged.

MLB also proposed increasing the minimum salary to $1 million for players with at least two years’ major-league service and $900,000 for those with less service; a $30 million increase to their pre-arbitration bonus pool, while also agreeing to the union’s proposal of lowering free agency from six years to five years for players 30 and older, while eliminating the qualifying offer system for free agents.

“We recognize that clubs will need a full offseason to prepare to operate within the cap and floor system,’’ MLB said in a statement. “Therefore, with this offseason already underway, we proposed today to begin the cap and floor system in 2028. This proposal would allow a smoother transition into the cap and floor system without delaying key player benefits … and transactional reform that will reduce roster churn.

“The projected salary cap and floor for 2028 continues to provide more money for major league players while leveling the playing field and giving more teams the ability to participate in the free agent market and retain their homegrown stars so that every fan believes their team has a fair chance to win it all.”

If the salary cap and floor are implemented, the 12 teams that would have to increase payroll would be: the Miami Marlins , Cleveland Guardians , St. Louis Cardinals , Tampa Bay Rays , Washington Nationals , Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.

The clubs that would have to lower their payroll: Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.

MLB also said it would agree to allocate the players’ share of the 2026 CBT proceeds to players as a bonus based on service accrued in 2026 ($285,000 to each player that received a full year of service, $213,400 to any player with three-quarters of a year of service, $142,300 to any player with a half-year of service, and $71,100 for any player with a quarter year of service.

MLB agreed to accept the union’s proposal to lower the number of times a player can be optioned to the minors in a season from five to four; exclude foreign professionals when determining whether an eligible prospect will receive a full year of service for finishing first or second in the Rookie of the Year voting, and prohibiting clubs from optioning or outrighting a player during the playing week by implementing weekly rosters.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET, Dec. 1. If no agreement is reached, MLB is expected to implement a lockout, which happened during their last negotiations in 2021, lasting 99 days.

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