Staggering $128 Million Payroll Differential Exists Between New York Yankees And Boston Red Sox.

It wasn’t that long ago when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were involved in a fierce American League rivalry.

The two teams, and their fans, had little love for one another.

The days of Yankees-Red Sox hostility may have gone the way of the outdoor telephone booth. Both are distant memories.

In fact, the Red Sox payroll is the only one to be in decline among the five American League East teams.

That’s a significant fact.

The Yankees are listed with a 2024 player payroll of $306,152,658, or an increase of close to $24 million from the 2023 season.

In contrast, the Red Sox are listed to have a player payroll of $177,716.975. The payroll represents a decline in payroll of around $5.1 million.

Last season, the Baltimore Orioles won the AL East with a fantastic 101-61 season.

The Yankees had a miserable year, finishing just above .500, at 82-80.

The Red Sox finished last in 2022, with their 78-84 record being the same as last year.

The Red Sox were most recently competitive in the American League East in 2021, when they finished in third place.

That season, the Red Sox record was 92-70, a respectable finish, only 8 games behind the division winning Tampa Bay Rays.

Player Payroll Picture:

Player payroll is clearly not the be-all, and end-all in a team’s success.

It does, however, paint a snapshot of the number of impact players on a team’s roster.

There is little question the Red Sox are lacking in game-changing, impactful position players.

The Red Sox are off to a nice start this season, as they sit at 7-3 after the first 10 games.

The Yankees have begun the season with a record of 9-2.

There is little doubt the Yankees have game-changing, impactful positions players.

The divide between the Yankees and Red Sox on-field performances has taken the competitive luster off the rivalry.

Today, as the 2024 season continues to unfold, it appears the differences in the directions of the Yankees and Red Sox couldn’t be more massive.

The Yankees payroll is increasing.

The Red Sox payroll is declining.

Here are the other AL East payrolls:

Toronto Blue Jays-$227,166,660, or up about $12.5 million.

Baltimore Orioles-$100,476,440, or up around $29 million.

Tampa Bay Rays-$98,523,712, or up $19 million.

While the Rays and Blue Jays payrolls remain woefully low, the increases are notable. In addition, both those teams have young, first and second year players in their starting lineups who are far from their expensive arbitration/and or free agent years.

Fangraphs.com lists a Yankees starting lineup with four players age 25, or under, including Juan Soto (25) Anthony Volpe (22) Austin Wells (25) and Oswaldo Cabrera (25)

The Red Sox starting lineup has three players age 25, or under, including Triston Casas (24) Ceddanne Rafaela (23) and Emmanuel Valdez (25)

Fangraphs.com shows the Yankees to be roughly $9 million over the top tier of the four MLB Luxury Tax thresholds. The top tier is $297 million.

Unless the team reduces payroll between now and the end of the season, the Yankees will be paying a hefty luxury tax.

The Red Sox payroll is roughly a bit more than $60 million under the first tier of the luxury tax, which is $237 million.

The Yankees payroll includes five players making over $27 million this year. They include:

Aaron Judge-$40 million

Gerrit Cole-$36 million

Giancarlo Stanton-$32 million

Juan Soto-$31 million

Carlos Rodon-$27,833,333

All but Soto, who can become a free agent following the World Series, are on multiple year, very expensive contracts.