By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
December 14, 2012
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million deal, the richest ever for a right-handed pitcher. Los Angeles has added more than $600 million in player salary since being purchased by Guggenheim Baseball Management last spring, and the team this season could have the most expensive payroll in MLB history.
The New York Yankees have been unusually quiet this offseason as the team tries to limit its spending. MLB in 2014 will implement new luxury tax rules, which have stricter punishments for teams with payrolls over $189 million, and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t want to cross that threshold.
Even the Yankees’ Kevin Youkilis signing is only for one year, meaning he’s off the books by 2014. With the Dodgers poised to have baseball’s richest payroll in 2013, it’ll be the first time since 1998 a team other than the Yankees has held that title.
