How the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays Spend to Win

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays are two teams on opposite ends of the pay scale.

The Dodgers sit near the top of Major League Baseball's luxury tax bracket, with a payroll estimated to be over $400 million this season.

Meanwhile, the Rays have one of the smallest payrolls in the league, with a figure estimated to be around $90 million.

Despite these vast differences in payroll, the two teams have enjoyed remarkable success on the field.

The Dodgers have won two World Series titles in the past three years, while the Rays have emerged as one of the top teams in the American League.

So how are the Dodgers and Rays able to achieve such success with vastly different payrolls?

Let's take a closer look:

Salary figures are from Cot's Baseball Contracts and WAR is from FanGraphs.

Dodgers:

Salary: $87.25 million ($13.4M/WAR)

1B: Freddie Freeman

2B: Tommy Edman

3B: Max Muncy

SS: Mookie Betts

C: Will Smith

Why they've been worth it:

Freeman and Betts are future Hall of Famers who have remained productive through the first half of their 30s, setting the culture for the team.

Dodgers' owner Mark Walter has funded the most expensive roster in baseball history, and Friedman has buttressed it with many of the components that helped the Rays thrive.

Rays:

Salary: $8.31 million ($2.4M/WAR)

1B: Jonathan Aranda

2B: Richie Palacios/Ben Williamson

3B: Junior Caminero

SS: Taylor Walls

C: Nick Fortes

Why they've been a bargain:

The Rays have found a way to compete with a small payroll by getting the most out of their players.

Aranda and Caminero are making less than $1 million and rank in the top 50 in OPS among qualified hitters.

Rays pitcher Nick Martinez, who signed as a free agent, has been particularly valuable, posting a 2.43 ERA after the Rays changed his pitch usage.

Category: Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Sports, MLB, Baseball Salaries, Player Evaluations

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