Money doesn’t buy happiness as the saying goes. On the other hand, we here at BP would rather take our chances with having money (and lots of it) and finding happiness than the other way around. The same goes for MLB team payrolls and success.
As of August 27th, here is a look at the top 10 highest spending teams (total team payroll) and their current records and overall standing:
| Team | W | L | Win % | Payroll ($million) | Division Standing | Wild Card (WC) Standing |
| Dodgers | 76 | 57 | 0.571 | $338M | 1st in division | NA |
| Mets | 71 | 61 | 0.538 | $314M | 2nd in division | 3rd WC |
| Phillies | 76 | 56 | 0.576 | $279M | 1st in division | NA |
| Yankees | 72 | 60 | 0.545 | $266M | 3rd in division | 2nd WC |
| Blue Jays | 77 | 56 | 0.579 | $242M | 1st in division | NA |
| Braves | 60 | 72 | 0.455 | $223M | 4th in division | 11 games back |
| Rangers | 67 | 67 | 0.500 | $208M | 3rd in division | 4.5 games back |
| Astros | 72 | 60 | 0.545 | $205M | 1st in division | NA |
| Red Sox | 73 | 60 | 0.549 | $196M | 2nd in division | 1st WC |
| Padres | 75 | 58 | 0.564 | $188M | 2nd in division | 2nd WC |
| Total | 719 | 607 | 0.542 | $2,458M |
The average payroll for these top ten spending teams comes in at $246M.
Conversely, also as of August 27th, here are the 10 lowest spending teams (total team payroll) and their current records and overall standing:
| Team | W | L | Win % | Payroll ($million) | Division Standing | Wild Card (WC) Standing |
| Rockies | 38 | 94 | 0.288 | $105M | Last in division | 33 games back |
| Nationals | 53 | 79 | 0.402 | $100M | Last in division | 18 games back |
| Reds | 68 | 65 | 0.511 | $99M | 3rd in division | 3.5 games back |
| Brewers | 83 | 50 | 0.624 | $97M | 1st in division | NA |
| Rays | 64 | 68 | 0.485 | $91M | 4th in division | 6.5 games back |
| Guardians | 65 | 66 | 0.496 | $88M | 3rd in division | 5 games back |
| Pirates | 58 | 75 | 0.436 | $69M | Last in their division | 13.5 games back |
| Marlins | 62 | 70 | 0.470 | $66M | 3rd in their division | 9 games back |
| Athletics | 61 | 72 | 0.459 | $58M | Last in their division | 9.5 games back |
| Total | 600 | 723 | 0.454 | $838M |
The average payroll for these ten lowest spending teams comes in at $84M.
Based on the data above, we do not believe that it should surprise anyone that the ten top spending teams are far outpacing the success of the lowest ten spending teams so far in 2025. Except for the Atlanta Braves, all the top spending teams are in the hunt for a postseason appearance. On the bottom half of the payroll though, only the Milwaukee Brewers are succeeding despite their relatively smaller payroll.
In the big picture of payroll disparity, the situation between rich and poor teams screams for a solution. We can debate that issue and possible solutions in future posts, but there cannot be any denying that MLB needs a mechanism to greatly reduce this chasm between the rich and poor markets for the sake of competitiveness and more importantly the fans.
Baseball Purist 
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