LOS ANGELES — The upcoming series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles is set to be the most expensive in Major League Baseball history, with combined player expenditures for the two clubs exceeding $1.07 billion in the 2026 season when competitive balance tax payments are included. The Dodgers carry the highest competitive balance tax payroll in MLB at $413.5 million, while the Mets' tax payroll tops $375 million.

The gap between the two franchises and the rest of the league is wide. The Dodgers' 2026 payroll alone exceeds the combined payrolls of the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, and Miami Marlins. The Mets' total payroll exceeds the combined payrolls of the White Sox, Guardians, and Rays. Only the New York Yankees, with a payroll within $100 million of the Dodgers, come close. The Philadelphia Phillies, at $312.7 million, trail the Dodgers by $100.8 million.

Both teams face large tax bills. The Dodgers' estimated competitive balance tax for 2026 is $161.9 million, exceeding the total tax payrolls of 12 other MLB teams. The Mets' estimated bill is $120 million, exceeding the tax payrolls of six other clubs.

The rosters feature some of the largest contracts in baseball history. Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets, the largest total contract in MLB history, though he will miss the series with a right calf strain. Francisco Lindor signed a 10-year, $341 million contract, the largest ever for a shortstop at the time of signing, and Bo Bichette joined on a three-year, $126 million deal, which carried the fourth-highest average annual value in MLB at the time of signing. On the Dodgers' side, Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with deferred payments through 2043 and an annual luxury tax value of $46 million. Kyle Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million deal during the 2025-2026 offseason with a tax average annual value of $57 million, the highest in MLB history. Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract, the largest ever for a starting pitcher. The combined 2026 salaries of Soto, Ohtani, Tucker, and Bichette exceed the total payrolls of 14 MLB teams and fall within $400,000 of the Seattle Mariners' total payroll.

Spending by both franchises has risen over recent seasons. In 2025, the combined payroll for the Mets-Dodgers series was $764 million — $36 million less than the 2026 figure — with total expenditures including tax bills reaching $1.025 billion. Since 2022, the two teams have ranked as the top two in total payroll in four seasons, with the exception of 2023, when the Mets ranked first and the Dodgers ranked fourth. The Dodgers' tax payroll rose from $268 million in 2023 to $417 million in 2025, a period that included the signing of Ohtani.

The Mets' spending increase followed Steve Cohen's purchase of the team from the Wilpon family after the 2020 season. Under Wilpon ownership from 2012 to 2019, the Mets never ranked in the top 10 in payroll, ranking as low as 27th in 2014. Under Cohen, the team has ranked first or second each year since 2022.