Bullet point summary by AI
- A potential MLB salary cap would force immediate roster adjustments from the league’s biggest spenders.
- Several star players on long-term deals could become trade chips as teams scramble to meet cap limits.
- The debate centers on which high-priced assets teams would sacrifice first to stay compliant.
If MLB ever adds a salary cap (and that remains a big if), it will have a massive ripple effect around the league to say the least. Fans interested in adding a cap are mostly excited about big-market teams being unable to sign every marquee free agent, but an under-discussed outcome is that the big spenders will quickly need to make adjustments to their rosters just to become cap-compliant.
When looking at the five biggest spenders in the sport, there is at least one cap casualty they’ll have to cut bait with, somehow, to get under the cap in time.
Toronto Blue Jays: SS Andres Gimenez
- Remaining contract: 3 years, $70.5 million + $23 million club option
Andres Gimenez might not hit much, but his defense makes him a valuable player for the Toronto Blue Jays. His 6 OAA is tied for fourth among all qualified shortstops, and somehow, it feels like he’s even better than that. but while his defense would be tough to lose, can the Jays commit to paying him an average of $23.5 million over the next three years in a capped system?
Not really, especially when they’re also committed to paying guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Dylan Cease long-term and will need to account for the potential losses of Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho and George Springer in free agency. Gimenez won’t have much trade value given his lack of offensive juice, but he could potentially get the Jays something somewhat decent for a team in need of elite defense up the middle.
Philadelphia Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola
- Remaining contract: 4 years, ~$98 million
The Philadelphia Phillies are sort of stuck where they are team-wise for a while, especially if a salary cap is implemented, because of all the long-term contracts they have. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo, J.T. Realmuto and Cristopher Sanchez are all making at least $15 million annually through 2028, and Zack Wheeler is set to earn $42 million in 2027. The player the Phillies would be most willing to move among that group is probably Nola.
Would this be possible? I honestly don’t know; Nola’s contract is looking rather ugly as he’s in the middle of a second straight rough season, but the righty has been a lot better than his ERA would indicate and the Phillies might be able to convince a small-market team needing to spend money to meet the cap floor that a bounceback could be in store. At worst, Nola is an innings-eater, and that alone provides a decent amount of value.
New York Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodon
- Remaining contract: 2 years, $55.6 million
The New York Yankees are in an interesting spot. In an ideal world, they’d find suitors for guys like Ryan McMahon and Giancarlo Stanton who are not on good contracts at all, but there’s a chance they’d look to trade Carlos Rodon instead. Now, this has nothing to do with how good Rodon is, as he remains a frontline arm, but it instead is about the construction of the Yankees’ roster.
New York is built around starting pitching, with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler leading the way. Rodon is their No. 4 starter, and the Yankees also have guys like Will Warren, Clarke Schmidt, Elmer Rodriguez and even Carlos Lagrange to consider. In other words, this is one of the best and deepest rotations in the sport with Rodon, and that’d remain the case without him. Knowing that he’s set to make over $27 million in each of the next two seasons (and that their rotation would be fine anyway), perhaps he’ll be on the move. His full no-trade clause could complicate matters, but finding one suitor figures to be a possibility.
New York Mets: 1B/DH Jorge Polanco
- Remaining contract: 1 year, $20 million
It’s safe to say the Jorge Polanco experiment has not worked as the New York Mets intended, as he’s played in only 14 games (only two of which have come at first base) and posted a .532 OPS. Polanco was brought in to be a potent middle-of-the-order bat following a huge 2025 campaign, but he’s been anything but that for the reeling Mets.
The hope is that he can find his power stroke when healthy (whenever that might be), but it’s hard to trust that the 32-year-old with a lengthy injury history will be able to play a full season and be productive for New York. The Mets would probably prefer to dump a contract like Marcus Semien’s, but Polanco should be much easier to move. With that in mind, trading him to a team believing he can bounce back might be the move, as the Mets would look to clear money around Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.
Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow
- Remaining contract: 1 year, $27.3 million + $30 million club option
The Los Angeles Dodgers would probably try to trade Kyle Tucker, but is a team really going to pay him roughly $60 million for potentially the next three years with how he’s played this season? That’d be a fairly hard sell. Given that, Tyler Glasnow might make more sense as a cap casualty.
Much like the Yankees, the Dodgers are all set in their rotation with Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan all under contract for the foreseeable future. Do they really need Glasnow as well? Sure, it’d be nice to have him, but the Dodgers will need to shed a ton of money if a cap was ever implemented, and the oft-injured right-hander might be the most replaceable player on the roster — especially when considering how much money he’s set to make in 2027.
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