Once again, the Cleveland Guardians showed that there are many ways to build a team.
They have never been big spenders, yet they’ve found ways to be a contender more often than not recently.
However, what they accomplished this season is even more remarkable.
As shown by Codify, the Guardians have the lowest payroll among this year’s 12 playoff teams, and the sixth-lowest in all of baseball.
2025 MLB Payrolls
(Millions of $, Playoff Seed):350 LAD 3⃣
342 NYM
300 NYY 4⃣
290 PHI 2⃣
255 TOR 1⃣
233 HOU
226 TEX
219 ATL
217 SD 5⃣
212 CHC 4⃣
207 LAA
201 BOS 5⃣
179 ARI
178 SF
165 SEA 2⃣
160 BAL
158 DET 6⃣
136 KC
131 MIN
131 STL
129 COL
122 MIL 1⃣
120 CIN 6⃣
110 WSH
100 CLE…— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 30, 2025
At $100 million, they’re ahead of only the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins.
Notably, among the lowest playoff teams, they most closely trail the Cincinnati Reds ($120 million) and Milwaukee Brewers ($122 million).
Given that there’s no salary cap or floor in MLB, owners can simply choose to limit their payroll and still collect money from TV rights and other sources.
That’s a worrisome issue, mostly because there’s no incentive for them to spend to compete at the highest level.
Yet, a team like the Guardians can thrive while finding ways to stay competitive without having to break the bank.
For instance, the New York Mets had the second-highest payroll in baseball ($342 million), and they didn’t even make the playoffs.
Granted, big-market teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers ($350 million) and New York Yankees ($300 million) will always be seen as the strongest contenders, for logical reasons.
However, at the end of the day, anything can happen in the playoffs, which is why they play the games.
NEXT: Analyst Says Guardians Pitcher Has Stepped Up As An Ace
