Last offseason saw the Los Angeles Dodgers commit more than $1 billion in salary to free agents, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández.
They went on to win the World Series and followed that up with another busy stretch of spending, signing the likes of Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and Roki Sasaki.
The Dodgers are now projected to have a payroll around $50 million more than the next closest club, $100 million more than the second-closest team, and roughly $320 million more than the bottom club.
Due to their spending to stack their roster with stars and recent success, fans and some other owners have complained it’s unfair, that the Dodgers are ruining baseball, and some have even gone on to incorrectly claim L.A. must be breaking the rules or getting special treatment.
However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred pushed back on those ideas, touting the Dodgers as a model organization, via Evan Drellich of The Athletic:
“No,” Manfred said. “I don’t agree with that. The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization. Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives. I recognize, however, and my email certainly reflects it: There are fans in other markets who are concerned about their teams’ ability to compete, and we always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers, not in that camp.”
Some MLB owners have used the Dodgers’ spending as an excuse bring up the idea of a salary cap, and those discussions began to take place at the owners meetings this week. But in reality, owners have always favored a salary cap to restrict player salaries, allowing themselves to pocket more money.
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts recently complained that the Dodgers’ financial advantages are hard to compete with, despite his team being one of the highest revenue clubs while sitting middle-of-the-pack in payroll.
Meanwhile, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer does not see the Dodgers as an issue and praised them for being a well-run organization.
Some players have also spoken out about the criticism of the Dodgers’ spending. Blake Snell pushed back on the notion that the Dodgers are “villains” for wanting to win while Jack Flaherty put the blame on other teams for not spending.
Dodgers rewarding fans with spending
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have both said their club has the ability to spend due to the passionate fans, and want to reward them for showing up to games and filling Dodger Stadium on a nightly basis.
Friedman has also went on to say his goal is to build the golden era of Dodgers baseball, and with two World Series titles in five years already, they seem to be on track to do just that.
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