MILWAUKEE — On the eve of the 122nd World Series, there was a realization these may be Major League Baseball’s last games for a while.
Owners are pushing for a salary cap, and that could prompt a lockout starting Dec. 2 and result in canceled games in 2027.
“It would be a real bummer to lose a season, that’s for sure. I think the industry as a whole is in way too good of a place,” Tampa Bay Rays ace Drew Rasmussen said Thursday at American Family Field, a day before the American League champions were set to play there in the best-of-seven series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, who have had a week of rest since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers — winner of the past two World Series — in the National League Championship Series.
This year’s World Series is the first since 1991 between teams both in the bottom half of MLB payrolls: Milwaukee ranked 19th as of Aug. 31 and Tampa Bay 25th. MLB team owners have said a salary cap is needed to help all teams compete more consistently, but players contend because of the method owners use to define expenses, such a chance would lead to management taking a greater share of the sport’s revenue.
“The system that’s being proposed, which is similar to other leagues in terms of revenue-sharing system, not only will help us compete, but more importantly all of the teams with lower payrolls, too, which is something also I think the fans want,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said.
MLB’s proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million using figures for luxury tax payrolls, and limit a player to 15% of a team’s payroll. Free agents would be capped at $265 million over six seasons — far less than Juan Soto’s record-setting $765 million, 15-year deal the outfielder signed with the New York Mets ahead of the 2025 season.
The players’ union has vowed never to accept a cap.
“If they’re going to sit there and wave their little magic wand at us saying they’re going to get a salary cap, it’s not going to happen,” Brewers pitcher Trevor Megill said.
Negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement to replace the five-year deal expiring Dec. 1 could turn into each side trying to outlast the other.
“My thought with it all is keep building on the former generations and build on what they gave us,” said Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, the 24-year-old right-hander who is set to start Friday night as the Rays counter with their own righty, 36-year-old Nick Martinez. “You don’t want to be the generation to send something backwards. You just keep building on what former generations have given you and hope for the best.”
Attanasio said the Brewers ranked 11th in nonplayer baseball operations spending this year and the Rays were ninth. The owner said close to 250 people report to general manager Matt Arnold.
Milwaukee is ranked last in market size among MLB’s 30 franchises, and the Brewers could become the first small-market team to win the title since the 2015 Kansas City Royals.
“We have to keep an eye on the present and one eye on the future in every move that we make. Every trade we have to think about that,” Arnold said. “There are tradeoffs for what you can do to help the team today and what that looks like going forward.”
Tampa Bay is the No. 15 MLB market. While the Rays haven’t spent lavishly on team payroll, they were among the bigger spenders on player development this year.