Perrotto: Nutting Won’t Be Reaching for Wallet Anytime Soon (+)
BRADENTON, Fla. – This is not a Bob Nutting apologist column. Far from it.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have drawn praise for making numerous off-season moves that have seemingly bolstered their roster, including from this corner.
It looks like the Pirates will field a legitimate major league lineup for the first time since 2019, the year before general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton came to town.
However, that doesn’t mean Nutting is spending a whole lot of money.
The Pirates’ projected payroll for the upcoming season is just $60 million. Just two teams project to have lower figures – the Baltimore Orioles ($50 million) and Oakland Athletics ($40 million).
So, it’s not like Nutting is suddenly lighting cigars with $100 bills.
Whether they have a miserly owner or not, it is difficult for the Pirates and other lower-revenue teams to compete with the big-market teams. The disparity between the payrolls is growing bigger every season, though I hate when small-market teams used that as a crutch for being non-competitive.
The Mets’ opening-day payroll is expected to be $330 million. That is more than eight times larger than the Athletics’ payroll and 5.5 times higher than the Pirates’ player budget.
That is not good for any business, especially competitive athletics.
I asked Commissioner Rob Manfred about the payroll disparity issue last week during Major League Baseball’s Grapefruit League Media Day. He gave an answer that was sure not to satisfy Pittsburgh Pirates’ fans.
Manfred believes MLB needed to be a “more national product.”
“When I talk about a more national product, sort of the thought there is that a more national product produces more centrally shared revenue, which, in turn, we hope, would reduce payroll disparities,” Manfred said. “At various times, we have talked and proposed, including in the last round (of collective bargaining talks), about direct payroll regulation, in addition to that, having a minimum payroll. “We remain open to those sorts of solutions. Obviously, we’re a long way from the next round of bargaining, but there are ways to get at it.”
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Manfred’s use of the phrase direct payroll regulation is code for a salary cap. The NFL, NHL and NBA all have a cap, but it won’t be coming to MLB anytime soon.
Any talk about payroll restrictions has always been a non-starter for the Major League Baseball Players Association, even when MLB has countered with proposals that include a salary floor. The union held firm again in 2021-22 when they were locked out by the owners for 99 days.
Further complicating matters is that some MLB owners don’t want a floor because it would require them to spend to a certain level. If the MLBPA ever accepted a cap, a floor would absolutely have to be part of the deal.
Manfred recently formed what he calls an economic reform committee to try to find solutions to the payroll disparity issue. The committee is comprised solely of team owners.
Though MLB hasn’t announced the makeup of the committee, the Red Sox’s John Henry, the Colorado Rockies’ Dick Monfort, the Detroit Tigers’ Chris Ilitch and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mark Walter are reportedly some of the members.
It’s doubtful how much difference this committee can really make, though.
For openers, revenue-sharing matters must be negotiated with the MLBPA, and the current CBA does not expire until after the 2026 season. Secondly, MLB has been talking about evening payroll disparity forever and has never come close to finding a solution.
So don’t expect Bob Nutting to spend much more money any time soon, especially when he won’t be forced to do so.
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