NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox will pay a $13.4 million luxury tax after failing to make the playoffs, and the New York Yankees finished with a $6.7 million bill, likely a fraction of what they will pay next year.
Three teams owe tax, according to end of year figures sent to clubs Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press. The Chicago Cubs must pay $7.6 million following a season that ended with a September fade and no postseason berth.
New York has run up a total of $348 million in tax since the payroll restraint system began in 2003, owing money each year except 2018. The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $150 million, followed by the Red Sox at $50 million and the Cubs at $11 million.
This year’s initial tax threshold was $206 million, counting payrolls by average annual values and including earned bonuses, adjustments for cash transactions, option buyouts and just over $14 million per team in benefits.
Among regular payrolls, which include salaries, prorated shares of signing bonuses and earned bonuses, the Red Sox topped the major leagues for the second straight season at $228 million. The Yankees were next at $226 million, followed by the Cubs ($220 million), World Series champion Washington ($205 million) and the Dodgers ($205 million).
Five of the top 10 spenders missed the playoffs, with the Red Sox and Cubs joined by San Francisco ($183 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($166 million) and Philadelphia ($161 million).
Just two teams from the dozen lowest payrolls reached the postseason. Tampa Bay (last at $67 million) defeated Oakland (26th at $96 million) in the AL wild-card game, then lost to Houston in a five-game Division Series.
MARLINS: Three-time All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp agreed to terms on a minor league contract with Miami.
Kemp, 35, is a career .285 hitter with 281 home runs in 14 seasons, but he played in just 20 games in 2019 for the Reds, batting .200 with one homer.
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