The Pittsburgh Pirates are stuck.
At the All-Star Break, they’re 39-58 and last in the National League Central. They’re also heading towards their 10th straight losing season and 29th losing record in the last 33 seasons.
While the Pirates have promising young stars like Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz, it’s not enough. According to Spotrac, they rank 27th in Major League payroll at $89 million — over $200 million less than the Los Angeles Dodgers ($341 million), New York Mets ($332 million) and New York Yankees ($291 million).
In a sport without a salary cap, Pittsburgh simply can’t keep up with big-market teams that can afford to sign pricey free agents and build star-studded rosters. The system feels broken, especially compared to other sports like the NFL and NHL that use salary caps to maintain parity.
On the bright side, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is aware of the glaring inequality and inherent challenges faced by small-market teams like the Pirates. He’s sympathetic to the plight of their fans and wants to make it easier for teams like theirs to compete again.
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Before Monday’s Home Run Derby, Manfred addressed Pittsburgh’s recent struggles during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“Pittsburgh’s a great sports town…There are tons and tons of really passionate Pirates fans who remember when the Pirates were a great, great team year in and year out,” Manfred said. “And they just want to look at the system and say, ‘We got a fair chance to win’ when you’re sitting around in February…and we need to deal with that issue.”
Manfred, who became baseball’s commissioner in 2015, hasn’t done much to address the sport’s economic issues over the past decade. However, there have been rumors that the owners will push for a salary cap when the current MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at the end of 2026.
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A salary cap would reduce much of the financial advantage that large markets like New York, Chicago and Boston have over smaller markets like Pittsburgh. A salary floor would also be beneficial to force small-market teams to spend more and invest more of their revenue in payroll.
Time will tell if Manfred makes good on his pledge to help make baseball fairer. If he does, that would go a long way towards helping the Pirates become competitive again.
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Featured image via Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images