Despite missing the playoffs and unloading several players through August waiver trades, the Washington Nationals were one of two teams to exceed MLB’s competitive balance tax in 2018.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that the Nats and World Series champion Boston Red Sox each surpassed the $197 million luxury tax threshold set by the league’s collective bargaining agreement, a deal signed by MLB and the Players Association in 2016.
Washington received the penalty for the second-straight season, earning a 30 percent tax of the money it spent above the $197 million mark.