With close attention being paid to the number of free agents still unsigned, Major League Baseball teams did something last season that hasn't happened since 2010.
Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), the $4,227,041,948 combined payroll for all 30 teams in 2018 was a drop of $18 million from the previous season.
It marked the first time in eight years that payroll spending went down from season to season and the largest decline since a $32 million drop from 2003-04.
Yu Darvish (Chicago Cubs), Eric Hosmer (San Diego Padres) and J.D. Martinez (Boston Red Sox) were the only free agents to receive deals over $100 million last offseason. All three of them went unsigned until February, with Hosmer and Martinez signing after spring training began.