The Toronto Blue Jays have had to contend with the overspending in the last 25 years by the Yankees and Red Sox.  With stiffer penalties now imposed on the higher payroll clubs. coupled with their recent back to back ALCS Appearances, the franchise draws enough to spend more money on total team salary in the next few years.  It will come down to the management’s ability on player personnel that should determine their success for the next 5 years and not sheer finances.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports

Tomorrow we will point out the clubs that were hurt most in the short term.  today we talk  about the winners of the new deal.

I am calling the Nationals, Mariners, Astros, Jays, Cardinals and Giants the immediate victors under the new format.

When i was thinking about more the past two days, the new structure seems to favor mid level payroll teams more than the lower or higher payroll clubs.

With the new penalties for spending way more money than the Luxury Tax Threshold, the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Tigers are going to find that the impact will run pretty steep on their roster decisions for the next 5 years.

Being that that all of those franchises are still going to dole out the kind of money on player contracts they are, I am not calling them losers for the new CBA either.

San Francisco has seem the LA Dodgers spend more than 1 Billion Dollars on player contracts over the last 4 years – all culminating into 4 straight Division titles in the process. Under the new Luxury Tax Threshold, the Dodgers will have to pull back on some of their spending.  The Giants still possess a nice plethora of signed players on the club who are productive.  San Francisco also sells out all of their home games as well.

(In No Particular Order)

(1) Nationals

Not only do the Washington Nationals have some money to spend this winter. but the strict new penalties should curb the Dodgers to spend less from 2017 – 2021, and will also be a factor for the Chicago Cubs inc coming years. These two franchises will represent the biggest path of resistance for the Nationals to compete in the Senior Circuit for the next 2 campaigns.

I fully expect that Bryce Harper is still going to leave the DC club in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that Washington won’t contend for a World Series in the next few seasons.  You even hear right now they are chasing down a deal for Andrew McCutchen.  That is a deal I fully endorse for them to do.

The Nats are in about a 2 year window to collect a NL Pennant.  Both Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are under Team Control for 2017 and 2018.  By adding McCutchen to the mix, that gives them another ALL – Star Caliber player to their roster.  I already think Harper, Murphy and Trea Turned may contend for the 2017 NL MVP.  Put in Cutch to that offense, and I could see a renaissance.

Washington can spend up to $40 – $50 MIL comfortably.  This could mean dealing for McCutchen, plus still managing to sign a decent Catcher. and also bring in a World Class Closer.

(2) Giants

Something had to reel in the Los Angeles Dodgers from spending from $270 – $300 MIL a year on their payroll each season.  With a 90% max penalty for spending beyond $235 MIL, this will hinder the Dodgers from signing too many Free Agents.

San Francisco also fell under the Luxury Tax Threshold, and have a lot of their lineup locked in for a few seasons at least.  The only real concern the organization has will be to revamp the Bullpen, and also grab another OF or 2 for depth.  The dollars spent will not take much.

(3) Blue Jays

Toronto has been reaching higher payrolls over the last few years, but still reside in the same Division as the Red Sox and Yankees.  Both clubs whom are at the 50% penalty bracket for payroll spending.  This stunts New York’s potential spending for 2017 to a huge degree. and the Red Sox as the years wane one.

This whole new CBA doesn’t mean the Jays will be able to resign Edwin Encarnacion, however they might see him leave the Division, as Boston and New York may not want to commit the cash needed to land the man.

The Blue Jays also have the better 1 – 5 Starting Pitching Depth in the Division, and besides inking Kendrys Morales already, they have some money to land a 1B/OF/DH type of player.  They are not too far away from being competitive from 2016’s roster.

(4) Cardinals

The immediate impact may not be felt as much here as the back half of the CBA will – however the penalties imposed on finishing the last half of the CBA will curb some of the money that the Chicago Cubs will be able to spend on player talent.

St. Louis can afford to be in the $150 MIL range – and live comfortably.  They also would see a spike in their battle versus the Pirates, who are one of the losers of the new CBA.  Cincinnati and the Milwaukee Brewers also don’t benefit from the new pact either.  The NL Central could be only contended by the Redbirds and Cubs for the whole duration of the agreement.

(5) Houston Astros & (6) Seattle Mariners

Obviously anytime you can see the Red Sox and Yankees not be able to just add players at will, it helps, but they are also in direct competition with the Rangers, who have $100 MIL player contracts in the name of Cole Hamels, Elvis Andrus Prince Fielder (Insurance covers the $ –  but still works towards AAV), Shin-soo Choo, and also have Yu Darvish a Free Agent after 2017.

Add in the pending guys that Texas have lost to Free Agency in Mitch Moreland, Ian Desmond. Colby Lewis, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gomez.  Texas may not want to edge the payroll limit in the coming seasons  I do expect them to spend money,  yet Houston and Seattle have more room to add players to their organizations.

Seattle and Houston are capable of drawing more attendance, and also carrying a decent size payroll that could escalate a little bit in the next 2 years.

With the Astros having guys on entry – Level contracts for a couple more years like George Springer and Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve to an incredible value deal, they can hunt for more players.

The Mariners have expensive players like Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma for sure, but the $14.5 MIL per year AAV is being outperformed by a guy like Nelson Cruz.

Seattle and Houston were both close enough to the playoff race already in 2016, and may use the winter to keep gaining on the Rangers in the AL West.

Its all about the cash when it comes to the new CBA. With the new restrictions on spending too much money, the middle class can now bridge the gap to the higher salary clubs. They can also pick off the Free Agents without paying as much compensation for not going over the Threshold themselves. They also are not as affected as the lower salary clubs not receiving higher Draft Picks for their departing Free Agents.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their other partners.***

A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.

To Subscribe and listen daily to  ‘Our Lead Personality’  Sully’s 20 Minutes Daily (every day since Oct.24, 2012) Podcast click here.  Guaranteed listening to the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast will be the best time you invest in online!

To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage. Like us on Facebook.