Former Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez was not a part of the Detroit Tigers' postseason roster, creating a unique scenario in which the Tigers' postseason roster had total payroll obligations of less than $20MM.

Jed Hoyer's ears just perked up.

But before Hoyer starts turning to internal solutions to duplicate what the Tigers were able to do prior to being eliminated by the Cleveland Guardians in Game of the Americal League Division Series on Saturday, Hoyer should look at the other three teams in the league championship series.

Those three teams are the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Sitting at the top of the 2024 MLB team payroll allocations are the Mets and Yankees. Both the Mets and Yankees have over $300MM in payroll allocations for the 2024 season while the Dodgers had over $241MM. Of course, that doesn't tell the full story given how the Dodgers were able to utilize player deferrals. To accentuate that fact, the Cubs have a total of just over $230MM in payroll allocations for 2024 but that includes $30MM in guaranteed deals to players no longer on the team's 40-man roster.

We have reached the point in October where Tom Ricketts is addressing Cubs' fans. Ricketts, in his address to fans, mentions that now is the time for the Cubs to return to championship-caliber baseball.

In the year 2024, championship-caliber baseball is defined by spending money. There shouldn't be this pride in having a "small-market" team reach the postseason as a false sense of proving that there isn't a need to buy a championship. The goal for the Cubs in 2025 is having players on their roster that can collectively outperform the team's expectation. The easiest way that can be accomplished by the Cubs is if Ricketts and the front office show a willingness to spend.