Concern is mounting about a potential Major League Baseball work stoppage following the 2026 season, largely due to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ massive spending and use of deferred contracts.
The Dodgers have committed over $1 billion in deferred salary to eight players, including $680 million of Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract. The team has also spent more than $450 million this offseason alone on players including:
ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan previously reported that some MLB owners are ready for Commissioner Rob Manfred to lock players out following the 2026 season.
“The rekindling of a cap conversation has already begun — particularly by owners peeved by the Dodgers’ spending and the sheer size of Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million, no-deferred-money deal with the New York Mets. Proposing a cap in next year’s CBA negotiations would be tantamount to a declaration of war by MLB — and already those owners are prepared for commissioner Rob Manfred to lock the players out Dec. 1, 2026,” Passan reports.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is now the latest to express concern about future labor relations.
Related: MLB owners reportedly eye 2026 lockout over Los Angeles Dodgers’ spending spree, deferred contracts
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone shares thoughts about potential work stoppage
In an interview with WFAN Sports Radio, Boone addressed worries about the “business of baseball” being broken.
“I think it’s probably a little overstated that it’s broken. Especially when you have like a team like this that we’re all going, ‘Wow, they signed another.’ And they’ve gone to a place, payroll-wise, that’s like, hard to wrap your brain around,” Boone said. “And I worry a little bit about that from a collective bargaining agreement the next time. When you’re ironing out an agreement, it’s not always just Major League Baseball and owners against players, but it’s owners against themselves.”
Aaron Boone has no problem with the Dodgers spending all this money but he fears it could lead to a “work stoppage”@BTandSal pic.twitter.com/sdieDEIa8G
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) January 28, 2025
The Dodgers’ expected luxury tax payroll for 2025 is approximately $382 million, far exceeding the highest tax threshold of $301 million. This means the team will be taxed 110% for every dollar over that threshold.
While some owners want to push for a salary cap, this has historically been rejected by the MLB Players Association. Baseball’s most recent lockout occurred after the 2021 season, lasting from December 2, 2021, to March 10, 2022. Though Opening Day was delayed, no regular-season games were cancelled. The sport’s most significant work stoppage came in 1994 when players went on strike in August, leading to the cancellation of the World Series. That strike lasted 232 days, extending into April 1995.
Related: New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner bemoans Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-breaking spending