Rob Manfred says MLB isn't ready for salary cap, Golden At-Bat rule anytime soon

After telling reporters in February that MLB needed to be "vigilant" about the lack of a salary cap, Rob Manfred is taking a noncommittal stance on the issue.

The MLB commissioner wants to see how the next couple of seasons play out before weighing whether a salary cap should be implemented in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

"We do hear a lot about it from fans, particularly in smaller markets," Manfred said on FS1's "The Herd" on Wednesday. "But the reality is we're two years away from the end of the [bargaining] agreement. We're just not in a position where we are talking about or have made decisions about what's ahead in the next round of bargaining. I think that a lot of water is going to go over the dam before we need to deal with that issue."

MLB's lack of a salary cap has been a divisive subject for decades, but it has re-emerged as one of the sport's most debated topics following the Los Angeles Dodgers' success. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 after signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, with their $353 million luxury tax payroll ranking as the highest in baseball, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Los Angeles' payroll has only ballooned since its title after the team made several high-profile signings this offseason to bring its luxury tax payroll for the 2025 season up to $401 million. 

When he met with reporters following an owners' meeting in February, Manfred said that the salary cap was an issue the league needs "to pay attention to" moving forward. However, he didn't blame the Dodgers, saying at the time, "Everything they have done is consistent with our rules."

The Dodgers aren't the only team that's had its payroll skyrocket in recent years. The New York