How Cleveland Guardians are impacted by new MLB salary cap and floor

The Cleveland Guardians are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball this season, made all the more impressive by their low payroll.

But that low payroll might not stay that way, looking into the near future. Depending on the new CBA for Major League Baseball, there could be a huge difference for the Guardians to deal with.

According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the new salary cap proposed by MLB was revealed. For the Guardians, it brings some tough news, but not in the way it's bad news for the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Mets.

How Guardians would be impacted by new MLB salary cap

"The salary floor for teams beginning in 2027 would be set at $171.2 million, which includes player benefits with the ceiling at $245.3 million," Rogers reports.

That ceiling would be some tough news for the Dodgers and Mets, as they'd have to drastically reduce their payroll. But, for a team like the Guardians, the floor is the much more important number.

According to Spotrac.com, the Guardians' current payroll is at a measly $87,711,532, which is the second-lowest in Major League Baseball, only ahead of the $80.4M payroll from the Miami Marlins.

What this means is that, if this proposal from MLB passed, the Guardians would have to find a way to add almost double, or roughly $83.5 million, to their payroll.

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For Guardians fans, this is some welcome news, as they will finally see their team forced to spend more to become compliant with the new salary cap if it's imposed.

Of course, this is still very early in development, and a lot can change from now until the CBA is finally agreed upon between the MLB and the MLBPA.

But this new salary cap for MLB would mean the Guardians would need to spend a lot of money. That could be used on someone like Tarik Skubal, or some other top-tier free agent over the next few offseasons.

For as good as the Guardians are now, if they have to nearly double their payroll, they might be much more than serious postseason contenders; they might be a World Series favorite out of the American League.

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