MLB Players with Bigger Salaries Than Cleveland's 2021 Payroll Post-Lindor Trade

Following Cleveland's trade of shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets on Thursday, Cleveland owns the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball by a significant margin.  

Cleveland dealt Lindor and Carrasco to New York in exchange for shortstops Ahmed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, as well as prospects Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene. That leaves it with a payroll of $22.95 million, which is more than $19 million less than the Baltimore Orioles, who rank 29th in that regard, per Spotrac.

While Cleveland's payroll will go up when the salaries for key players such as reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber are determined, 23 MLB players currently have a higher salary in 2021 than Cleveland has as an entire payroll.

According to Spotrac, those players are:

• Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels: $37.1 million
• Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets: $36 million
• Gerrit Cole, SP, New York Yankees: $36 million
• Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals: $35 million
• Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies: $35 million
• Zack Greinke, SP, Houston Astros: $35 million
• Max Scherzer, SP, Washington Nationals: $34.5 million
• Justin Verlander, SP, Houston Astros: $33 million
• Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres: $32 million
• David Price, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: $32 million
• Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: $31 million
• Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels: $30 million
• Chris Sale, SP, Boston Red Sox: $30 million
• Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers: $30 million
• Giancarlo Stanton, DH, New York Yankees: $29 million
• Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros: $29 million
• Anthony Rendon, 3B, Los Angeles Angels: $28.1 million
• Bryce Harper, OF, Philadelphia Phillies: $27.5 million
• Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals: $26 million
• Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds: $25 million
• Patrick Corbin, SP, Washington Nationals: $24.4 million
• Jason Heyward, OF, Chicago Cubs: $23.5 million
• Justin Upton, OF, Los Angeles Angels: $23 million

That list illustrates the divide between the haves and have-nots in MLB as five franchises have multiple players making more individually than Cleveland's entire payroll.

The Los Angeles Angels have the most with four, followed by the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros with three each and then the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers with two apiece.

While some of the players on the list are truly elite players such as Angels outfielder Mike Trout, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, others are veterans in the twilights of their careers such as Angels first baseman Albert Pujols and Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Teams like Cleveland can ill afford to have an older player making that type of money.

Cleveland didn't have the resources to pay Lindor the kind of money he figures to demand in free agency next year, which opened the door for a big-market juggernaut like the Mets to step in and acquire him.

The lack of a salary cap in MLB has put small-market teams at a significant disadvantage for years, and Cleveland may have a long rebuild ahead, especially if it parts ways with other stars such as Bieber and Jose Ramirez in the near future.