The Rangers spent big but is it enough to rise above the Dodgers, Mets & Yankees?
The 2023 Texas Rangers World Series banner that hung throughout the 2024 season inside Globe Life Mall has been put away, replaced by a smaller version next to the team’s other significant achievement flags high above left field.
If the Rangers do not win the 2025 World Series, and end up eating Dodgers or Mets’ dust instead, it may be for a lack of spending, which is insane. With an Opening Day payroll just a few dollars north of $206 million, the Rangers rank sixth in Major League Baseball in that increasingly vital category.
That should be enough. More than enough.
As the call and cries for MLB to go to war with the Major League Baseball Player’s Association over a hard salary cap intensify, the Rangers have at least put themselves in a position to be relevant in a world that looks increasingly like it is owned and operated by the L.A. Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Wall Street executives.
The Rangers opened their season on Thursday afternoon and lost 5-2 against the Boston Red Sox. A 3-run home from Boston’s Wilyer Abreu in the top of the ninth inning broke a tie, and was the difference in a day of indoor baseball in front of a less-than-capacity crowd.
Despite the outcome, it’s hard not to like the 2025 Rangers because:
No. 1: They didn’t trade Luka Donic. (Don’t care if it’s a different sport; not letting this go).
No. 2: A healthy Josh Jung at third base. Corey Seager is the power of this lineup, but Jung has the bat, and glove, to do real damage.
No. 3: Due in large part to their payroll, they are still closer to their World Series winning-team than their sub-.500 flop last season.
In the immediate moments after the Rangers won the ‘23 World Series, owner Ray Davis proudly predicted his team was built for long term success. The ownership group expects another World Series run.
When Davis approved the 2021 offseason spending sprees that began with the addition of free agent shortstop Corey Seager, among others, it was with the idea that the club had to invest in real big league talent to win big.
For much of the Davis’ ownership group tenure, the Rangers were normally around the middle of MLB in terms of payroll. The group was frugal in other areas of ownership, but not on players.
There were some years that were lower than others, but they never dipped to Sacramento A’s, Chicago White Sox or Pittsburgh Pirates’ territory.
Whether it was Jon Daniels making the final decision on players, or now Chris Young, the Rangers firmly understand that “Moneyball” reads well, and is a fun movie, but money wins ball in MLB.
The 2024 MLB playoffs featured the Cleveland Guardians, Mets, Dodgers and Yankees. Only Cleveland had a payroll that ranked outside of the top four in MLB; what the Dodgers and Mets are currently doing bears a striking resemblance to some of the larger soccer teams in Europe.
The Dodgers’ payroll is around $322 million, followed by the Mets’ $312 million. The Yankees rank fourth at $275 million.
The MLB 2025 luxury tax is $240 million.
Less than a year after signing free agent pitcher/outfielder Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, the Dodgers won the World Series for the second time since 2020. His contract pushed L.A.’s payroll and payroll tax to more than $400 million.
For the Dodgers, they can afford this Gucci lineup.
So can the Mets, who are owned by hedge fund king Steve Cohen. Before he bought the Mets, in 2020, Cohen was legendary for running afoul with authorities for insider trading, and in 2013 his firm had to pay $1.8 billion in fines.
MLB’s luxury tax is a bargain for Cohen, and it doesn’t require lawyers. During the winter, Cohen handed Yankees outfielder Juan Soto a 15-year, $765 million contract, the biggest in baseball history.
This type of spending, and payroll disparity, routinely crushes far too many franchises right around the time their hopes should be rising.
“It’s great for every fan base to have the feeling of hope as you approach spring training that you can compete for a championship,” Rangers president of baseball operations Young said. “My primary focus is providing that for our fans and community. I feel great where we sit today.
“I’m really not too worried about any other team other than the Texas Rangers, but stepping back and looking at the health of the game, the game is in a great spot. But do I think as a fan in any respective city that I would hope they would feel good about their chances to compete for a playoff spot, and a World Series.”
Since around 2000, the gap between the market sizes and local media rights deals has created a widening gulf that has once again become a concern for the commissioner’s office.
In February, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred used the word “vigilant” about the league’s lack of a hard cap, like the NFL. The next month, he told FS1’s Colin Cowherd that it was too early to make a cap a priority, because the labor agreement has two years remaining before it expires.
That’s a man who knows the fight that is the coming; there is no need to alienate anyone yet with dramatic rhetoric.
There is a lot to like about the 2025 Rangers, because they spent the money necessary to win, and yet in this climate it still may not be enough. Which is insane.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 7:08 PM.
