The Giants aren’t generally talked about as big spenders for a very simple reason: They play in a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the most expensive team in baseball history.
The Dodgers’ spending partially obscures the fact that the Giants, at around $170 million in payroll by the end of last year, put together the second-most expensive team in the National League in 2015, and they paid the luxury tax for the first time. While the Giants are known around baseball as even-year champs, agents and marquee free agents see a club with holes to fill, and plenty to spend.