The Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending World Series champions, have become the Evil Empire on the West Coast.
Despite the moaning and groaning you've heard about all the star players the Dodgers have signed to monster contracts over the last two seasons, they don't have the highest team payroll heading into the 2025 major league season.
That distinction belongs to the New York Mets, according to MLB’s present-day calculations, obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The Dodgers, thanks to heavily deferred contracts to Shohei Ohtani and most of their biggest stars, have an opening-day payroll of $321.