NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are cutting payroll and their luxury tax bills — just as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and perhaps Clayton Kershaw near the free-agent market after the 2018 season.
The Dodgers are on track to slice their tax bill by about a quarter this year and the Yankees by two-thirds. The San Francisco Giants also are set to slice their payment in the first season of baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, but the Detroit Tigers are slated to pay more despite saying they want to reduce payroll.