The Tampa Bay Rays successfully threw-out the argument for a minimum payroll last year — winning a pennant with an opening-day payroll of $44m (compared with the Yankees’ $209m) — but the residual cost of winning the pennant is clear (since a title is only that much further). The Rays’ opening-day payroll this year has risen to $63m, an increase of 43 percent.

Similarly, the Yankees have exhibited the cost of losing, since spending more than $200m should buy you a division title (at the very least, a wild-card berth). Opening-day payroll in the Bronx has decreased by 4 percent, but they are still the only team in the league with a payroll over $200m. (The second-highest spending team is the Mets at $149m.)

Other teams of note…

• the Phillies cut payroll by 15 percent;
• the Red Sox cut payroll by 9.5 percent; and
• the Cubs increased payroll by 14 percent.