Marlins gave away Stanton becauae they had new ownership that wanted to be cheap (and still does). They traded Yelich despite being in year 3 of a 5 year, 50 million dollar deal.
Not all teams may be able to spend like the Mets and Dodgers, but they can field competitve payrolls. The Cardinals, Braves, and Padres have all spent big money, and they arent big market teams.
This is about willingness, not financial capability. Every team in baseball could afford 150 million in payroll. Their owners simply dont want to do it
For what it's worth in 2022 the Cardinals were second in attendance, the Braves fourth and the Padres fifth. In total revenue generated the Braves were 4th, the Cardinals fourteenth and the Padres fifteenth.
