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Small market MLB teams are outperforming big payrolls, undermining owners’ push to cancel 2027 season
We’re nearly a month into the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season, and already there have been some major surprises, outstanding performances, and, most importantly, the complete and total dismantling of the “poor” small market owner trope.
And hopefully it provides some positive momentum toward the ridiculous push from those owners and supportive fans to cancel the 2027 season in order to increase franchise values.
In just the first few weeks of the season, we’ve seen several high-profile contract extensions for young prospects in small markets, including one that set a record for the largest monetary guarantee ever given out to a player who’d yet to play in the big leagues.
Then, the San Diego Padres, who play in one of the smallest markets in the league, sold for an astonishing $3.9 billion to the owner of Chelsea Football Club. That sale price exceeded the price that Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets just five and a half years ago by $1.4 billion. Put simply, there is no longer any reasonable debate: the business of baseball is booming.
But that’s the financial side, which is just one part of the “concern.” The other? The supposed problem with competitive balance in baseball. Well, it’s early, but the start to the season has already demonstrated why those “issues” have been wildly overstated and weaponized by owners pushing for a salary cap. And those same New York Mets have shown how absurd the hand-wringing has become.
That hand-wringing, that small market teams can’t possibly compete with the large payrolls of big market teams, fundamentally misunderstands the gaps between baseball teams. Yes, there are significant advantages to having more money to spend on players. But that money must be spent wisely in order for it to matter. The Mets might be the perfect example of how money can’t fix everything.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the league in payroll, and caused mass outrage in the offseason by signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz. Yes, the Dodgers are in first place…by half a game over the small market Padres. Diaz gave up three runs without getting an out on Sunday afternoon, pushing his ERA to over 10, and Kyle Tucker has been the 78th most valuable hitter in baseball thus far, behind Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman. The Dodgers have still jumped out to a great start, but it’s mostly been due to exceptional performances from the bottom of the lineup, players like Andy Pages, Dalton Rushing, and Miguel Rojas.
The Mets, who are a close second to LA with a $370 million payroll and over $500 million due in payments this year thanks to the luxury tax, have now lost 11 straight games after blowing a ninth inning lead to the Cubs on Sunday. They’re tied for the worst record in baseball, have scored the second fewest runs in the league, and have now fallen a whopping eight games out of first place in the National League East already.
The Mets are also 43-60 since late June 2025, one of the worst records in baseball over that timeframe. Again, this a team that will have spent nearly a billion dollars on payroll over the last two years. They missed the playoffs in 2025, and the poor start has dropped their postseason odds to just 41% this year.
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Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays, who made the 2025 World Series and have the fourth highest payroll in baseball at roughly $290 million, are currently in last place in the American League East at 8-13. They’ve been outscored by 26 runs already.
What about the Philadelphia Phillies, always one of baseball’s biggest spending teams? They rank fifth in team payroll at $285 million, with a $320 million luxury tax payroll. They’re in fourth place in the NL East at 8-13, and their -38 run differential is quite literally the worst in Major League Baseball.
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The Houston Astros rank seventh in payroll at nearly $240 million. They’re in last place in the American League West, having allowed the most runs of any team in the sport. Even worse than the Rockies, who play their home games at Coors Field.
What about the small market “poor” teams?
Well, the Cincinnati Reds are in first place in the NL Central at 14-8 ahead of the big market Cubs, who’ve outspent them by over $100 million. The Athletics are tied for first in the AL West. The Cleveland Guardians are once again defying the run differential gods and sit in first place in the AL Central, despite a payroll well under $100 million. The Tampa Bay Rays are in second in the AL East, just a half game back. Miami, the team with the lowest payroll in baseball, roughly $300 million behind the Mets, sit in second and have outscored the Mets’ offense by 28 runs already.
Does this mean the standings will finish this way? No, not necessarily. The Blue Jays and Astros, for example, have suffered through a rash of pitching injuries and the Mets are missing Juan Soto. But therein lies the point. Injuries, underperformance, and expensive veterans declining as they age can easily derail a season for the richer teams. Yes, the Dodgers have excelled with huge payrolls, but they’ve done it by building up depth through minor league development and targeted small dollar value signings. Mookie Betts is out? Rojas, Alex Freeland, or Hyesong Kim can pick up the slack. Will Smith needs more time off? Dalton Rushing, a former top-35 prospect is the backup. As the extensions and franchise sales have show, there’s plenty of money floating around baseball. And as the standings thus far bear out, higher payrolls don’t always correlate to success. MLB already has competitive balance. We don’t need to cancel an entire season, which despite their arguments, would be exclusively to enrich the league’s owners, to achieve it.
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Ex-CENTCOM commander warns against ‘risky’ US ground operation to seize Iran’s enriched uranium
Ret. U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus said assassinating more of Iran’s leadership will not end ongoing issues while warning against a U.S. ground operation to seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
“This would be a very, very tall order, it would be exceedingly risky. And the casualties could potentially be quite substantial,” he said Monday on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
“Assassinating a few more leaders is not going to bring this issue to a close,” he added.
Petraeus’ comments come as the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire Wednesday, with President Donald Trump asserting an extension is “very unlikely.”
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The former CENTCOM commander, who led troops into battle during the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said the deployment of U.S. ground troops to Iran would be very risky.
“We’re not really sure where these canisters are, of this thousand pounds of 60 percent enriched uranium,” he said. “They’re going to have to excavate very, very substantially. And by the way, that’s what makes the idea of a forced ground operation very, very challenging.”
Petraeus noted that while Iran has felt the damage of the United States’ military campaign, the regime is not hopeless.
“They’ve seen lots and lots of damage that we can inflict,” he said.
“They know what we can do… They’re also trying to figure out how much they can give on these other issues that traditionally have been very, very difficult to negotiate.”
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Trump said he will enforce the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports until a deal is reached. However, Petraeus said the economic pressure has not made Iran completely hopeless.
“They’re not at the point of desperation,” he argued.
The former CIA director argued that both the U.S. and Iran want the war to end, citing economic challenges that both nations have experienced amid the 52-day conflict.
“I don’t think that either side really wants to return to full-on combat,” Petraeus said. “There has been damage to infrastructure in the Gulf states. And we certainly don’t want to see more of that.”
Vice President JD Vance and senior White House officials are set to depart for Pakistan on Tuesday for a new round of peace talks, though recent reports from Iranian state media cast doubt on such meetings.
“I think both sides, frankly, really do want an agreement,” Petraeus said. “Obviously, there are challenges domestically for us if this continues. Obviously, there are huge challenges for them [Iran] economically and financially if it continues.”
The former CENTCOM commander said the two main points of discussion in the talks will be Iran’s uranium enrichment and the restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’ll see if there is trade space,” he said.
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Nancy Sinatra slams Trump’s use of father’s song ‘My Way’ as ‘sacrilege’
Singer Nancy Sinatra called President Donald Trump’s reference to her father Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way” a “sacrilege.”
On Saturday, Trump posted a video to Truth Social of Frank Sinatra singing his classic song in light of his renewed threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure for the country allegedly violating a ceasefire agreement.
The song begins with the opening lines, “And now/the end is near/And so I face/the final curtain” which resemble Trump’s past threats to destroy the nation.
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“Omg, @NancySinatra will not be happy about this. Trump goes against everything that Frank stood for. He was a big champion for equality and supported the Civil Rights movement,” one person commented on X.
The 85-year-old “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” singer later responded to this comment, adding, “This is a sacrilege.”
She reposted users’ comments criticizing Trump’s post and use of the song, insisting Frank Sinatra would not agree with Trump’s politics.
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“Trump may love Sinatra, but Sinatra did not love Trump,” one person wrote.
“This is just sickening. Frank Sinatra would never have allowed that monster in the White House to use his music or put his lyrics in his mouth. Sinatra was a man of honor, a man who never had to lie about who he truly was because he WAS the greatest. trump is a loser,” another wrote.
Sinatra also responded to a fan asking if she could do anything to stop Trump from using the song.
“Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers,” she responded.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump previously danced with first lady Melania Trump to the song “My Way” at the Liberty Ball after his first inauguration in 2017. At the time, Sinatra joked about the news writing, “Just remember the first line of the song.”
She later deleted the post and denied that she was “angry” that Trump used the song.
“What a rotten spin to put on a harmless joke,” Sinatra tweeted.
She also wrote, “I’m not sure why this became such a big deal. It was really just a joke.”
When asked whether she was upset over her father’s song being used by Trump, Sinatra wrote at the time, “Actually I’m wishing him the best. A good president helps the entire world. I don’t believe anyone tries to be a bad president.”
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Mom, pregnant teen and 12-year-old found bound and murdered as police hunt multiple suspects
An Alabama woman, her pregnant teenage daughter and her 12-year-old son were found brutally murdered in their home, authorities said.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said deputies responded to a home in Wilmer just after 2:30 a.m., where they discovered the three bodies in separate rooms with their hands tied behind their backs.
The victims were identified as 46-year-old Lisa Gail Fields, who was stabbed; 17-year-old Keziah Arionna Luker, who was shot; and 12-year-old Thomas Cordelle Jr., who had his throat cut and was nearly decapitated.
“It was a brutal scene,” Burch said. “If you’ve got a beef with an adult… there’s nothing worth killing over, but to murder two children brutally… I hope and feel comfortable we’ll have this animal or animals off the streets soon.”
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An 18-month-old child was found unharmed in the home.
“At this point, we don’t suspect any kind of domestic or family-type situation,” Burch told reporters.
Burch noted that the home was “left in disarray,” suggesting the perpetrators may have been searching for something. Investigators believe more than one person was involved in the killings because the victims had been subdued.
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Luker was seven or eight months pregnant, the sheriff added.
“The mother was stabbed, the 17-year-old was shot, and the 12-year-old’s throat was cut as was the mom,” Burch said. “It tells me that they had a plan coming in to bring zip ties or flex cuffs with them so they had a plan.”
The father-to-be, who works offshore, triggered the discovery after he grew concerned when he could not reach Luker after he saw her cell phone activated on Life 360, the sheriff said. Another family member went to check on her and found all three victims in separate rooms with their hands bound behind them.
The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether the death of Luker’s unborn child warrants an additional murder charge once a suspect is arrested.
Burch said investigators currently have “positive leads” in the case.
Luker’s father told WALA-TV that his daughter had just received her GED.
“It’s a senseless murder,” he said. “She was a bubble of sunshine. A person that makes you smile; a person that’ll make you laugh whenever you’re down. She had empathy for everybody. She loved her brothers; she loved her mom; she loved all of us.”
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