Just thought I’d make a point about payroll. And before I make it, I want to be clear. While I am all for smart investments, I’d love for the Orioles to regularly be in the top 10 of payrolls.
But at the same time, spending doesn’t automatically correspond with overwhelming success on the diamond. Take the two New York City teams. The Mets have the game’s No. 2 luxury-tax payroll in 2025 (roughly $333 million). The Yankees are No. 3 (roughly $315 million). And for that astronomical combined spend, how is it working out?
The Mets, No. 11 in my power rankings, are 69-61. The Yankees, No. 12 in my rankings, are 70-60. Together, the Mets and Yankees are 139-121, a winning percentage of just .534.
Yes, both teams will most likely make the playoffs and anything can happen once the Big Dance starts. But, do either of these teams really look like the teams that can make it through three or four playoff rounds?
So, yes, it’s better if a team spends much more freely than we saw around here during a rebuild in which the team didn’t have the wherewithal to spend because of the ownership situation, further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rubenstein group moved the team from near the bottom of the payroll standings to the middle of the pack. And all signs point to payroll being upped significantly in the years ahead. The first tangible sign of that was the Samuel Basallo extension to the tune of eight years and $67 million guaranteed with a ninth-year club option.
But the teachable moment here is that it’s how smartly you spend the money, which is something Orioles GM Mike Elias failed to do in 2025.
Here are my latest power rankings:
1. Milwaukee Brewers (81-50, No. 1 last week): OK, the Brewers missed an opportunity this week head-to-head with the Cubs to put away the NL Central. They went 3-5 on the week while the Cubs went 6-2. So, now that the Cubs played their way into having a chance again, let’s see how Milwaukee responds. Great series in Toronto this coming weekend as Nos. 1 and 2 square off.
2. Toronto Blue Jays (76-55, No. 2): The Jays’ bold gambit at the deadline in picking up Shane Bieber paid off massively in his first start off the injured list against the Marlins on Aug. 22 (six innings and one run on two hits with nine strikeouts and no walks). And in case you hadn’t noticed, this old dog Max Scherzer has looked like the Hall of Fame version of himself in his last five starts — 32 innings, 23 hits, seven walks and 28 strikeouts, adding up to a 2.25 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.
3. Detroit Tigers (78-54, No. 4): The AL Central leaders went 10-3 the past two weeks after a very tepid stretch. All signs are pointing the right direction, but because the Tigers are new to these heights, I need to see it as they near the playoffs. They are on the road for six this week in Sacramento and Kansas City.
4. Chicago Cubs (76-55, No. 9): The Cubs did what they needed to do this past week in picking up 3.5 games on the first-place Brewers. Now they need to hold serve on the road against two teams — San Francisco and Colorado — that seem to have little to play for.
5. San Diego Padres (74-57, No. 8): Ex-Orioles are doing their part in the Padres’ recent surge. Ramón Laureano is hitting .325/.379/.563 with nine extra-base hits in 22 games since the trade deadline, while Ryan O’Hearn is hitting .255/.364/.455 with five extra-base hits in 20 games.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers (74-57, No. 3): It’s not as if the Dodgers have no shot to repeat, but the playoffs are a very, very tough gauntlet, especially as a wild card. There’s a lot to like about the 2025 team, but I don’t think the Dodgers have the guts to use Shohei Ohtani to buoy their bullpen. And to date, he has been a marginal starter — not able to shut anyone down and not able to eat innings. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto do give them a chance, but that ‘pen is really a crapshoot.
7. Boston Red Sox (71-60, No. 7): The lesson here: Beware of picking up pitchers the Dodgers don’t want. Free-agent starter Walker Buehler is in mop-up duty and deadline pickup Dustin May has only had one very good start in five attempts. If either had fit in with Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito, the Red Sox would be a very sneaky dangerous team.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (76-54, No. 5): While nobody was happy about the ankle and rib injuries suffered by Phillies starter Aaron Nola, there was no great pressure on him to rush back. But with the combination of his lousy return start and the news that Zack Wheeler is lost for the rest of this season and most likely much of ’26, all eyes were on Nola’s second start. Phillies fans can breathe a sigh of relief now. Six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts and one walk will do that.
9. Houston Astros (72-59, No. 11): The Astros got an uplifting start by Spencer Arrighetti in Baltimore on Aug. 24, but the returns of Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier have offered no glimpses of any help. Perhaps Yordan Álvarez’s impeding return will help a lot more.
10. Seattle Mariners (70-61, No. 6): The Mariners won eight of their first nine games after the deadline, but now they are just 12-9 (4-8 in their last 12). This is a very strong team on paper, but it’s time for the Mariners to put up or shut up. All too often, they have not able to meet the moment. This time it won’t be for the lack of talent or the lack of a player having an MVP season (Cal Raleigh).
11. New York Mets (69-61, No. 12)
12. New York Yankees (70-60, No. 10)
13. Cincinnati Reds (68-63, No. 13)
14. Kansas City Royals (67-64, No. 14)
15. Texas Rangers (66-66, No. 16)
16. Cleveland Guardians (64-65, No. 15)
17. St. Louis Cardinals (64-67, No. 19)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-67, No. 22)
19. San Francisco Giants (63-68, No. 18)
20. Tampa Bay Rays (63-67, No. 20)
21. Miami Marlins (61-69, No. 21)
22. Los Angeles Angels (61-69, No. 17)
23. Baltimore Orioles (60-70, No. 23)
24. Athletics (60-72, No. 24)
25. Atlanta Braves (59-71, No. 25)
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-74, No. 27)
27. Minnesota Twins (59-71, No. 26)
28. Washington Nationals (53-77, No. 28)
29. Chicago White Sox (47-83, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (37-94, No. 30)