(670 The Score) With spring training underway, the Cubs' payroll for luxury tax accounting purposes currently sits in the ballpark of $225 million. That's a bit under the $233-million competitive balance threshold that MLB has set for 2023.
On Monday, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts indicated the club's current plan is to remain under the luxury tax and – both for 2023 and the coming seasons – decide whether to surpass it based on the state of the team in the standings and what's needed to fortify the roster. The Cubs' roster payroll currently sits as the 11th-highest in MLB, while their payroll for luxury tax calculations is ninth in the league, according to Spotrac.
"Right now, we've talked about being around the CBT (level)," Ricketts said Monday. "If we see an opportunity or it's the right time to go over for a year or two, we'll have the ability to do that. But we'll manage that year-to-year. I'm not going to promise (a) top-five (payroll) or anything like that, but we will definitely put the resources we have on the field."
In the context of the Cubs already being near the luxury tax, Ricketts directly addressed a question about the team's ability to add players ahead of the trade deadline if it's playing at a high level.
"We always have the ability to add resources at the deadline," Ricketts said. "We'll make that decision as it gets closer. Obviously, you want to be careful going over the CBT because there are penalties. Some of the penalties are merely financial, but over time, they become draft pick slots and those kinds of things. So you want to be thoughtful about it. And you want to just be alert and manage around it if you can. If we're midseason and we need a player, we'll do what we have to do then."
Ricketts acknowledged he sees value in avoiding going into the luxury tax in consecutive seasons, as the penalties increase in such scenarios. A team must pay 20% on all overages in the first season, then 30% in the second straight season and then 50% in the third consecutive year. Dropping below the luxury tax for one season resets the penalties. Organizations that surpass the competitive balance threshold by $40 million or more will have their highest selection in the MLB Draft moved back 10 slots.
"If you stay over too long, you start losing draft position," Ricketts said. "Which ultimately, you're always balancing the near-term and the long-term. At some point, it kind of tips back to being maybe short term, it feels great, but in the long run, it's going to hurt. So you have to be careful about balancing those things."
With the Cubs coming off a disappointing 74-88 season, Ricketts expects much better from them in 2023.
"Our goal – and it was a goal we laid out a few years ago – was to try to be more consistent," Ricketts said. "It's kind of the boom-and-bust cycle that has been with so many clubs in baseball – we want to kind of get out of that routine. But you know, it didn't work out coming out of the great teams that we had in '16, '17, '18. It just didn't work out to be able to make the personnel moves that could maintain a more consistent winner on the field. So we had to adapt to that situation. I think Jed (Hoyer) did a great job with that. Going forward, we'd very much like to be a team that's known for its consistency of competing for the division every year. And ultimately, that's how we're going to get back to the World Series – just make the playoffs as many times as you can."
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