Baseball's biggest spenders are stumbling

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball's biggest spenders are stumbling, slowed by injuries and scrambling to patch rosters with help for battered bullpens and other positions ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Opening the season with a top payroll of $326 million, the New York Mets have a 1 1/2-game NL East lead but are 17-20 since mid-June. Just $200,000 behind them in spending, according to Major League Baseball's figures, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are four games ahead in the NL West but are 5-13 since July 3. Third at $294 million, the defending AL champion New York Yankees blew a seven-game division lead and trail AL East-leading Toronto by 5 1/2 games after a 22-28 skid that started in late May. "It is in a lot of ways a game of survival," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. While all three are in playoffs positions, they have not had the seasons they hoped for. All three teams were considered "winners" of the offseason. The Mets lured Juan Soto from the Yankees for a record $765 million, 15-year contract. The Dodgers added prized pitcher Roki Sasaki and left-hander Blake Snell along with reliever Tanner Scott, outfielder Michael Conforto and second baseman Hyeseong Kim. The Yankees brought in Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams. Projected lineups and the ones in box scores have been markedly different. The Mets have used 13 starting pitchers, losing Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning for significant stretches. "We're not going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. Nobody will," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "We're facing a lot of adversity, but every team goes through it." Los Angeles had 14 pitchers on the injured list in early June and has used 16 different starters. "It was very important to have the depth. We went through a lot last year and I didn't think that we would kind of match what we did last year, but sure enough we have," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "To kind of manage it hasn't been easy, but we're doing it." The Yankees lost ace Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to torn UCLs and Luis Gil to a lat strain. They are now without two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge for at least 10 days because of a flexor injury. Los Angeles leads the major leagues with 1,495 player days on the IL, the Mets are fifth at 1,095 and the Yankees sixth at 1,022. Philadelphia, 1 1/2 games back of the Mets in the NL East, has the fewest IL days at 214. In addition to relievers, the Mets could use a center fielder and an upgrade at third. The Yankees added infielders Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario, boosting payroll and tax by $11.56 million. Modern MLB is a sport for the wealthy. Just two of the current division leaders were not among the top seven spenders as of opening day: Detroit (19th at $148 million) and the Chicago Cubs (14th at $195 million). And the spending doesn't include luxury tax, with seven teams projected to pay. The Dodgers were on track at the season's start to owe a record $151 million — more than the payrolls of seven teams. The were were projected at $73 million and the Yankees $52 million, with Philadelphia, Toronto, San Diego and Boston at lesser amounts. "I'm a piker now compared to the Dodgers," Mets owner Steve Cohen said during spring training. All seven teams set to owe tax would be in the 12-club playoffs if the season ended now along with Houston, currently just below the tax threshold. In the past decade, three teams outside the top 10 spenders have won titles: Atlanta in 2021 (14th), Houston in 2017 (18th) and Kansas City in 2015 (13th). While the biggest spender has won twice, the Dodgers in 2020 and Boston in 2018, a top six payroll has won six titles of the past 10 titles. Some owners say MLB should push for a salary cap in negotiations to replace the collective bargaining agreement that expires in December 2026, a proposal the players' association would fight. "Payroll disparity is such a fact of life among the ownership group that there's not a lot of need for talking about whether we have it or not," baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said. "We understand that it has become a bigger problem for us." Last year, the top three spenders reached the League Championship Series along with Cleveland, which finished at No. 25. Ten of 20 LCS teams in the last five years paid tax. "I have the ability to spend if I have to," Cohen said. "I want to win and I want to I can on the field." ___ AP freelance writer Ken Powtak contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB