14 Teams Cut Payroll

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, 14 of the 30 MLB teams cut Opening Day payroll this year compared to last year.  He adds that 10 of the 14 sliced the budget by at least $10MM.  The Yankees' spending spree still led to an $8MM payroll cut.  The Cubs had the largest bump at $16.5MM (despite cost-cutting moves such as not offering arbitration to Kerry Wood and trading Mark DeRosa).  The Padres had the biggest reduction at almost $20MM.