Chicago Tribune · Jan 9, 2019
Baseball payrolls drop for 1st time since 2010: Cubs had 3rd highest, White Sox second lowest
Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, an $18 million decrease attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason.
Still, even a year with flat payrolls is unusual for MLB. The only previous drops since 2002 were by $3 million in 2010 and by $32 million in 2004.
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Teams combined to spend $4.23 billion on major league payroll last year, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The decrease followed an offseason with a weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher.