What Rob Manfred and the MLBPA said about salary cap fight as lockout looms over 2026 World Series

The small market Milwaukee Brewers vs. Tampa Bay Rays World Series will not be enough to deter MLB's owners from pushing for a salary cap. Prior to Game 1 on Friday, commissioner Rob Manfred said this year's World Series between two teams that finished the regular season in the bottom half of the league in payroll only strengthens the case for a salary cap.

"I think it shows that we leave a lot on the table in some of our smaller markets by not having them have an opportunity to compete on a regular basis," Manfred said Friday (via ESPN). "The Brewers have been a well-run franchise forever. It's been 40 years since we're here. Once every 40 years is not enough."

The Brewers are in the World Series for the second time in franchise history and the first time since 1982, and, respectfully, Manfred is wrong about them being a "well-run franchise forever." Milwaukee posted 12 consecutive losing seasons from 1993-2004 and also was a bit of a laughingstock for a few years in the mid-1980s. The Brewers are very well run right now, but not for the last 40 years.

Anyway, both the Brewers and Rays are seeking their first World Series championship. MLB is guaranteed its third first-time champion in eight years, joining the 2019 Washington Nationals and 2023 Texas Rangers. Furthermore, 17 of the 30 teams have reached their league's Championship Series in the last 10 years, and 24 of 30 teams have made the postseason in the three wild-card era.

The teams that haven't made the postseason since the third wild card format became permanent in 2022 have failed to do so largely because of incompetence, not payroll. MLB has healthy competitive balance. It's a 30-team league. There will always be teams with long title droughts because that's the math. Get into the postseason and you can win, and it has never been easier to get in.

"The salary cap is the opposite of competition," MLB Players Association executive director Bruce Meyer said Friday (via ESPN). "The salary cap tells teams you can't compete too much. The results of these playoffs obviously further undermine their argument for why they think they want it. But again, that's not the reason why they want it."

MLB proposed a $243.5 million salary cap and $171.2 million salary floor in June, with limits on contract length and size. The MLBPA has insisted it will not agree to a salary cap. The collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1 and, barring a surprise agreement, it is expected the owners will lock out the players at that time.

MLB has framed the need for a salary cap around competitive balance. Even if that is the league's top priority, a salary cap would also serve to limit player payroll (each team's largest expense) and boost franchise values. CBA talks and the lockout are all about money. Everything else is secondary until the money gets figured out.