Diamondbacks vs. Rangers payrolls, player salaries show stark contrast for World Series
The Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Texas Rangers 2023 World Series matchup is like David vs. Goliath in terms of team payrolls and player salaries.
One team's budget towers over the other.
USA TODAY Sports ranked every MLB team's payroll at the beginning of the season and the Diamondbacks came in ranked No. 21 among the 30 MLB teams with a payroll of $116,471,292.
The Rangers, the team the Diamondbacks will face in the World Series beginning on Friday, was ranked ninth with a payroll of $195,869,490.
That's a sizeable difference.
The payroll discrepancy between the two teams is even more stark when you realize who is not even on the Diamondbacks anymore.
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Pitcher Madison Bumgarner was the team's highest paid player at the beginning of the season with a salary of close to $23 million.
Shortstop Nick Ahmed was third with over $10 million in salary.
Reliever Mark Melancon was sixth at $6 million and reliever Andrew Chafin was eighth at $5.5 million.
And there are several other players on the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster no longer with the team.
Ketel Marte is the Diamondbacks' highest-paid player right now with a salary of $11.6 million.
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The Rangers had eight players with higher salaries on their Opening Day roster, including Corey Seager ($35.5 million), Marcus Semien ($26 million) and Nathan Eovaldi ($17 million).
They also have Max Scherzer, whom they traded for before the 2023 MLB trade deadline, who makes $43.3 million per season.
World Series odds: Texas Rangers favored to top Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 Fall Classic
No wonder Arizona is an underdog in the 2023 World Series odds.
But there's nothing low-budget about the way these Diamondbacks have played in the MLB postseason.
The young, inexperienced and considerably less expensive Diamondbacks have already beaten teams with higher payrolls in the Milwaukee Brewers (No. 20 in MLB), Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 4) and Philadelphia Phillies (No. 4).
Can David slay another payroll Goliath in the World Series?
More: Mad Dog Russo is eating his words after Diamondbacks' win. Here's what he will do next
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: World Series payrolls: Texas Rangers' budget tops Arizona Diamondbacks
