Noah Hiles: MLB's salary cap fight is already exhausting

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 16, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — There wasn’t much of a local flavor to this year’s MLB All-Star Game festivities.

Neither Paul Skenes nor Braxton Ashcraft pitched in the midsummer classic. Oneil Cruz’s injury prevented him from returning to the Home Run Derby. Sunday’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers overshadowed anything prospects Seth Hernandez and Edward Florentino did in the Futures Game.

Overall, there wasn’t much for Pittsburgh baseball fans to follow — aside from the primary storyline that dominated the event once again.

Similar to last summer, the main topic of discussion from the All-Star break centered around a salary cap. With the league’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1, both the owners and MLB players association are anticipating — if not even embracing — the idea of a long battle over the game’s financial structure.

There’s no need to take a deep dive into the background on this topic. If you’re reading this column, you likely know where both sides stand.

The owners want a cap. Every other major American professional sports league has one. They claim it will create a more competitive playing field, thus making the game better for all.

The players couldn’t disagree more. They believe a cap will only make league owners more wealthy, all while capping the potential earnings for those on the field. They believe owners already have the means to field a competitive team and their unwillingness to do so won’t change under a new financial structure.

Fans are also invested.

Supporters of small-market clubs are tired of being outspent, tired of seeing their homegrown superstars leave for a payday they believe their favorite team can’t afford to offer. That line of thinking is especially prevalent in this town.

It’s nearly impossible to go a day on social media without seeing at least a few Pirates fans expressing a desire for a salary cap. You can find it in the comments section for every Skenes highlight reel or just out in the open whenever the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies or Yankees are in town.

I get it. I really do.

But I can’t be the only one who’s already exhausted by this, right?

I understand the importance of this issue for all parties involved. The owners, players and fans all have something major at stake. Depending on how this unfolds, the game could drastically change. That change could very well make MLB better — something all parties should hope to achieve. But the road to that achievement is daunting.

Right now, this issue looms over MLB like a dark cloud, one that at times makes it more difficult to enjoy the present.

There are times when it feels like nothing in 2026 even matters. For some, the regular season, the All-Star break, trade deadline and postseason seem to be northing more than formalities, all of them just stops on a journey toward an offseason battle that will almost surely be ugly. It’s disheartening to see a future showdown between lawyers overshadow the daily showdowns on the diamond.

I’m not suggesting Pirates fans aren’t invested in this year’s ballclub. The positive energy around PNC Park has been impossible to ignore. More people are reading our stories and consuming our multimedia content. They’re invested.

Pittsburgh finally has a team it can believe in. It has a team in playoff contention entering the second half of the season. It’s just a shame the team itself can’t be the only area of focus.

Right now, Pirates fans shouldn’t have to worry about retaining Brandon Lowe or if a lockout will take away the second and final year of Ryan O’Hearn’s time in Pittsburgh or one unprofessional media member calling Skenes a “future Yankee.”

But MLB has made it impossible to ignore these realities.

MLB has made it impossible to simply enjoy MLB. I’m tired of thinking about the big picture, especially right now, in the midst of an overall entertaining regular season.

Hopefully, a year from now, this will all be over. Hopefully, a year from now, we can just enjoy baseball again.

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