The highly anticipated 2025 MLB Draft starts this Sunday in Atlanta, coinciding with the location of this year’s All-Star Game. Unlike other major North American sports drafts, this event doesn’t promise immediate results, as even the top prospects often spend a prolonged time in the minors before making their mark. Still, the next wave of baseball talent will be chosen this weekend. Check out the latest first-round mock draft.

In total, there are 30 teams, yet only 27 teams will see first-round picks this draft season. The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees find themselves excluded from the first round due to their heavy spending which triggered penalties related to the competitive balance tax. It is crucial to clarify that these teams haven’t lost their selections; rather, their picks have been pushed back 10 spots due to overspending.

The competitive balance tax (CBT) functions as a soft salary cap in baseball, allowing teams to exceed it but incurring penalties for doing so. The following lists the CBT thresholds from the 2022-2026 collective bargaining agreement:

• 2022: $230 million
• 2023: $233 million
• 2024: $237 million
• 2025: $241 million
• 2026: $244 million

Penalties are determined based on how far over the threshold teams spend and their frequency of violations. For example, repeated offenses incur harsher penalties.

The following summarizes the CBT rates monitored for efficiency:

Level of Overage	First-time Offender	Second-time Offender	Third or More
$20M or less over threshold	20%	30%	50%
$20M to $40M over threshold	32%	42%	62%
$40M to $60M over threshold	62.5%	75%	95%
$60M or more over threshold	80%	90%	110%

Thus, a team spending $75 million over the CBT pays various rates across the tiers. Furthermore, teams that exceed $60 million over the CBT threshold will see their next first-round pick moved back 10 spots unless they possess one of the top six picks; in that case, the second-rounder is moved back instead while maintaining the higher pick.

The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees are all in this scenario, having spent significantly beyond the CBT last year which caused their first-round selections to be pushed back.

Details of CBT Penalties for the 2025 Draft

Team	2024 CBT Payroll	Original First-Round Pick	New “First-Round” Pick
Mets	$347.7M	No. 28	No. 38
Yankees	$316.2M	No. 29	No. 39
Dodgers	$353.0M	No. 30	No. 40

The 2025 draft doesn’t follow the previous year’s standings as the base for determining selection order; the first six picks are lottery determined, followed by remaining teams in reverse order of standings. The postseason teams pick last based on their performance in October.

Interestingly, the Dodgers and Yankees were the last two teams standing in the World Series, placing them at picks 29 and 30, respectively. Moreover, the penalty for exceeding the CBT impacted all three clubs, pushing their selections out of the first round entirely, making it a noteworthy draft in terms of implications for these teams.

Nevertheless, they still retain these picks—they will simply select later than originally intended due to the CBT penalties.