Ranking all potential 2024 World Series matchups ahead of the divisional round | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

11. Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

10. Detroit Tigers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

9. Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

According to USA Today, the Cleveland Guardians had the third-lowest Opening Day payroll at $93.3 million. The Detroit Tigers were slightly higher at $103.8 million. The Kansas City Royals were still bottom ten in the majors at $115.3 million.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers spent $1.3 billion last offseason to sign/extend four players – Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith – making them a top team for the 12th straight year. Five opening day payrolls together.

And aside from the Dodgers-Rays World Series in 2020, it’s been a hot minute since we last had a David vs. Goliath matchup, pitting a top-three OD payroll against a sub-10 OD -Payroll began.

Cleveland-Chicago in 2016 was close, but the Cubs’ OD payroll didn’t crack the top 5 until a few years later. (Plus, they were dealing with that 108-year curse anyway and didn’t feel like a juggernaut. )

You have to go back to 2007 for Red Sox (No. 2 OD Payroll) vs. Rockies (No. 25), because the last time a 162-game season ended with a World Series like this. And, well, Goliath beat David to a pulp in that game, and Boston won by one stroke.

Before that, however, the Marlins (No. 25) game against the Yankees (No. 1) in the 2003 World Series produced a massive upset, and perhaps one of these AL Central penny-pinchers could pull off a similar upset over the spending-less Dodgers .

God knows all neutral fans would choose the Guardians/Royals/Tigers.