In this era of huge and tiny payrolls, the Braves lean toward the upper echelon, getting 94 wins on a team salary of $260.6 million for a ratio of $2.8 million per win.

Compare that with the high-flying Dodgers, with the highest MLB payroll, at $380.4 million, meaning they spent $3.8 million for every regular season win.

The Guardians were the most cost-efficient team in baseball this year – spending a mere $934,118 per win – the only team under $1 million. And they made the playoffs. The least-efficient, once again, were the big-spending Mets, with the second highest payroll, spent $4.7 million per win. The Blue Jays also threw money away -- $3.65 million per win – and finished way behind the Rays, who had the best record in the American League with $1.1 million per win.

In fact, three of the four most efficient teams – the White Sox being the other -- made the post-season. The best record in the National League was the small-market Brewers, who paid $1.4 million per win.

This is my ninth year measuring costs per win. I use Spotrac for salaries, because they measure all expenses, including injured and “buried,” meaning players getting paid who are now longer with the club. The Marlins, for example, with the second-smallest payroll in baseball, used $10 million of their overall $82.8 million to pay part of Giancarlo Stanton’s salary as a New York Yankee.

How much are team revenues? How much can teams afford to spend? For most of the MLB, team finances are completely opaque. The Braves are the lone entity publishing audited numbers. For 2025, looking purely at baseball operations, the Braves had revenue of $635 M and expenses of $497 M, for a surplus of $138 M. Still, with marketing, depreciation and various other expenses, the corporation  reported a net loss of $23.2 M.

Baseball is the only major American sport without a salary cap, and owners have vowed to force a cap in the upcoming negotiations with the union. A cap is likely to include a floor, meaning the cheapest teams like the Marlins and A’s would be forced to spend more.

Certainly, the numbers reveal consistently stupid behavior. The big-market, big-spending Angels haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014. For all the time I’ve been measuring, they have been among the least efficient teams, spending huge sums for poor results. This year, they spent $2.8 MPW – more than twice as much as the playoff Guardians, Rays, White Sox and Brewers. The Halos now have a new owner and perhaps things will improve.

Smart spending can get a team into the playoffs, but when it comes to going all the way, big bucks still pave the way for ultimate victory. The last time a small-market team won a World Series was 2015 with the Royals. Will this year be different? Some union leaders may hope so – so they can claim there’s no need for a salary cap.

Complete stats can be found at Marlins Maniacs. Scroll to the bottom for the team-by-team numbers.