On the heels of an offseason in which the Tigers invested about $225 million in their roster, owner Chris Ilitch apparently opposes the idea of increased spending league-wide.
During negotiations on a new CBA with the Players Association, Ilitch was among four MLB owners, along with Bob Castellini of the Reds, Ken Kendrick of the Diamondbacks and Arte Moreno of the Angels, who 'objected to raising the competitive balance tax' from its current level of $210 million to $220 million, according to The Athletic. MLB made the proposal all the same, but it was still well short of the players' ask of $238 million.
Per The Athletic, "The resistance of the four owners reveals at least some of the hard-liners who are likely influencing perhaps the single-most contentious issue in negotiations that have already cost the sport games."
The luxury tax is in place to keep big-market teams like the Dodgers and Yankees from outspending their smaller-market competitors, but it has not grown in proportion to the league's rising revenues in recent years, making it "one of the main concerns for the players" in construction of the next CBA.
Commissioner Rob Manfred officially cancelled the first two series of the season earlier this week after the owners and players failed to reach an agreement ahead of an MLB-imposed deadline. Barring a sudden turn in negotiations, more cancellations are looming.
After years of paring payroll, Ilitch approved a spending spree for the Tigers this offseason as their rebuild turns the corner. Detroit signed SS Javier Baez for $140 million and SP Eduardo Rodriguez for $77 million and picked up the $7.5 million option on trade acquisition C Tucker Barnhart.
The Tigers were one of the highest-spending teams in baseball during a long run of contention under former owner Mike Ilitch, but it never yielded a World Series title. His son apparently isn't as keen on the idea of on arms race with the biggest spenders in the sport.
Detroit is more of a mid-market team and 'not all small-market owners ... were opposed to' raising the luxury tax, according to The Athletic. It should also be noted that Moreno and the Angels occupy one of the biggest markets in the country.
Per The Athletic, at least some of the four owners who opposed the raise 'took stances based on their personal feelings toward costs and baseball’s economic system.'
The owners also apparently 'irked the players' by trying to include meal money and daily stipends as part of the expenses that count toward the luxury tax: "Players were angry, sources said, the league would try to add something as fundamental as the cost of food as a reason to spend less on payroll."