Cheap Miami Marlins Could Face Investigation For Lack Of Spending

The Miami Marlins must be baseball internet's favorite team because they don't spend money.

For the entire offseason, fans have been furious with the Los Angeles Dodgers for trying to win by signing good players. The Marlins have done the exact opposite. 

It was reported last year that both the Marlins and A's needed to spend tens of millions of dollars more in luxury tax payroll or risk the Major League Baseball Player's Association filing a grievance over their lack of compliance. While the A's did at least pay lip service to competing and spending money, signing Luis Severino and extending Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker, the Marlins have effectively spent nothing. 

Per Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic, Miami is around $20 million under the required limit, with no end to their lack of spending in sight.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins celebrates his solo home run against the Dodgers in a game last year in Los Angeles. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Miami Marlins Show How Beneficial It Is To Be Cheap

While the MLBPA has filed past grievances against the Marlins for their lack of spending, they've had virtually no punishment. The team did not provide comment to Rosenthal, but it's clear the Marlins don't really care much about complying with the rules or even pretending to care about fielding a competitive team.

Miami is set to take in an estimated $70 million in revenue sharing, and their payroll is only marginally higher than that. A likely trade of star pitcher Sandy Alcántara is sure to take that figure even lower. 

The Marlins are a joke, and fans and the league let them get away with it. 

In San Diego, the Padres have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on building a star-studded roster. They've been rewarded with attendance and massive increases in revenue. 

However, in a much larger market, the Marlins have spent nothing, raking in tens of millions in revenue sharing with virtually zero criticism. 

Not spending to build a better team is ruining baseball. It's always better not to try, apparently.