This offseason, the Dodgers' total deferred payments officially surpassed $1 billion. They have a league-leading projected $353 million 2026 payroll (per FanGraphs), almost $60 million more than the second-place Mets. Their projected $328 million payroll for 2027 is already bigger than the Mets' by over $115 million.
The Dodgers are already at the center of spending discourse, but that's only going to come into starker reality the closer MLB gets to an almost inevitable lockout after the 2026 season. Some bottom-feeder teams have actually started spending pretty significantly (anyone been keeping tabs on the Pirates and A's these days?