I am not a huge fan of Spotrac, as they can be inconsistent, but here are the payrolls they list as of now.
#1 Mets $249MM
#2 Yankees $241MM
#3 Dodgers $231MM
…
#4 Padres $190MM
…
…
#12 Cardinals $141MM
As far as projections for next season, who cares? The Dodgers will just go out and get more players between now and then to fill needs. Since this time last year, they added Max and Trea and Freeman and …
It isn’t like they are going to go cheap all of a sudden. They are in a different league from the Cardinals and it isn’t even close. To be exact, $90MM difference right now. And it is very likely to stay that way.