Major League Baseball Owners Are Purposefully Making Their Teams Worse

Ostensibly, Major League Baseball ownership should be about beating the other 29 teams by doing everything possible to construct the most talented roster. Unfortunately, as we've learned in recent seasons, that's not how many owners choose to operate their teams.

Why? Because it saves them money to avoid signing veterans, replacing them with cheaper, younger, less-talented players instead. 

How does this play out in practice? Well, as one example, there's the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Paul Skenes. They have several other promising young starters, and outfielder Oneil Cruz seems to have taken a significant leap thus far in the 2025 season. 

They also have several players on the roster who could easily be replaced with quality major league veterans. Those veterans though, cost more money.

The Pirates have been using journeyman Dennis Santana as a closer, a pitcher with a career 4.58 ERA. Meanwhile, reliever David Robertson remains a free agent after putting up a 1.9 win season in 2024, per Fangraphs. Robertson had a 3.00 ERA, an elite 33.4% strikeout rate and a solid 3.38 BB/9 rate. Sounds like the exact type of player who could help the Pirates potentially win a few more games. Except, of course, Robertson made $11.5 million in 2024. And the PIrates don't want to pay it.

TAMPA - Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes delivers a pitch to the plate during the regular season game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2, 2025 at George M. Steinbrenner Field. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

MLB Ownership About Putting Profits Ahead Of Competitive Integrity

This dynamic is playing out on several teams, where quadruple-A level players are on rosters ahead of potentially more talented major league veterans. But those veterans would demand higher salaries, so they languish in free agency, or join one of the few teams actively trying to win.

Kirby Yates is another example. He was one of, if not the best, reliever in baseball in 2024. Yates had a 1.17 ERA, struck out over 12 hitters per nine innings, and put up 33 saves. He'd help any team's bullpen, as a closer or late-inning reliever. But because he got a contract for $13 million, he's on the Dodgers. 

The Washington Nationals, as a team, have a 7.41 bullpen ERA. That sure sounds like a team that could be improved with a reliever like Kirby Yates. Or David Robertson, for that matter. 

Instead, they've relied on pitchers like Orlando Ribalta, Cole Henry, Jose Ferrer and Eduardo Salazar. Dylan Crews, James Wood, C.J. Abrams…and that's their bullpen.

This is the problem with team ownership prioritizing saving money over building the best possible roster. The Baltimore Orioles have some exceptionally talented young players, and ownership essentially added just Charlie Morton in the 2024-2025 offseason, even after losing Corbin Burnes.

Baltimore, as another example, ranks 24th in the league in production from the designated hitter position. Meanwhile, J.D. Martinez who was an above-average hitter in 2024, and 35 percent better than league average in 2023, remains a free agent.

This type of pattern is a problem for the competitive balance of the sport. Not the Dodgers or Yankees spending money, but other teams refusing to spend around the margins to improve their rosters. Make the bad, cheap teams better, don't make the good teams worse.