Orioles Have Lowest Payroll In MLB -- And Chris Davis Accounts For Nearly Half Of It
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Orioles are in the midst of a complete ground-up rebuild. So, it's no surprise that when Spotrac released their latest payroll accounting for every team in the league, the O's find themselves last in MLB with a total payroll of $46,308,782.
But, the Orioles can say something no other team can: one player makes up 45% of that payroll! That honor, of course, belongs to first baseman Chris Davis, who is due a little over $21.1 million this season. The 34-year-old first baseman struggled again in 2019 posting a .179 batting average with 12 homers and 36 RBI in 105 games. The .179 average was an improvement over 2018 when Davis hit .168 with 16 homers and 49 RBI.
Davis was hopeful about turning things around in 2020 and he had gotten off to a good start in Spring Training with seven hits in 15 at bats (.467 average), including three home runs and nine RBI. Most promising was the nine walks he racked up against just three strikeouts.
Davis isn't the only O's player counting for a significant portion of the team's payroll either. Starting pitcher Alex Cobb is on the books for $14 million. Combined with Davis, that accounts for 60% of the team's payroll for the upcoming season. Cobb appeared in just three games for the team in 2019 before needing season-ending hip surgery.
The 2020 season is still suspended as the league works on plans to potentially return to play. When they do, the Orioles will have the distinction of holding the league's smallest payroll despite paying big money to two veterans.