AP Exclusive: Dodgers taxed $32M, MLB payrolls record $4.5B
By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers were hit with a $32 million luxury tax for the second straight season, among six teams paying a penalty as baseball payrolls rebounded after the lockout to a record $4.56 billion. The New York Mets set a luxury tax payroll record at $299.8 million, topping the $297.9 million of the 2015 Dodgers, and owe tax for the first time since the penalty started in 2003, according to final figures compiled by Major League Baseball and obtained by The Associated Press. NL champion Philadelphia, the Yankees, San Diego and Boston exceeded the $230 million tax threshold.