The gap in Major League Baseball keeps getting wider. And according to longtime MLB insider Tim Kurkjian, the breaking point may be closer than the sport wants to admit.
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Speaking with Dan Le Batard, Kurkjian said he now believes a work stoppage in baseball is inevitable. The latest spark, in his view, was the Los Angeles Dodgers landing Kyle Tucker on yet another nine-figure contract.
The Dodgers are operating in a financial stratosphere of their own. Even compared to big spenders like the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the separation is growing extreme. In fact, the Dodgers are projected to pay more in luxury tax in 2026 than 11 MLB teams will spend on their entire rosters.
Kurkjian was careful not to single out Los Angeles as the villain.
"I think there's going to be a work stoppage also, although I pray all the time that that doesn't happen," he said, via Awful Announcing. "I'm not blaming all of this on the Dodgers. They draft well, they develop well, and when they get players, those players get better."
The real issue, according to Kurkjian, is structural. The disparity between big-market and small-market teams has reached an unsustainable level. A salary cap has been floated as a possible solution, but Kurkjian believes it is a nonstarter for the players. A salary floor would also be required to force lower spending teams to compete financially, something ownership is unlikely to embrace.
All of this is happening while MLB is enjoying strong attendance, solid ratings and new media deals with ESPN, NBC and Netflix. That momentum makes the timing especially troubling.
Baseball has been here before. And Kurkjian's fear is that, once again, the sport may not be able to avoid tripping over its own success.
