Speaking with the media at the Winter Meetings, Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg was candid on the two most significant issues facing his baseball team: payroll and the team’s desire to move to Montreal for part of the season.
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s talk about why these comments are important and how they relate to one another.
Payroll
The Rays have payroll limitations, both self imposed (as discussed below) and imposed by the league (according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Attachment 22).
It’s hard to imagine the Rays being financially limited given the appreciation of the team’s value since the current ownership group took over in 2005, but that value is not liquid until portions of the team are sold off as investments (in part or in whole).