Since the turn of the century there has been one consistent in baseball: the teams that spend the most win the most.
Of the nine winningest teams of the century, eight have won a World Series and six have won multiple titles. Seven of those eight teams have had multiple years with a top ten payroll since 2020. The lone exception? The Guardians Guardians, who have won the sixth-most games this century despite not having a payroll that's ranked the top half of the league since 2009.
In most seasons, you can put a list of highest payrolls next to the best records and see how similar they look.