My thoughts on the Dodgers and what is "Bad for Baseball"
Debunking the arguments and common fan sentiment that the Dodgers flexing their financial muscle is bad for the overall health of the game.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the model franchise, especially for a big market club, as they’ve been able to assemble quite a roster and won the 2024 World Series. They’ve done so with every part of team building: trades, free agent signings, and internal development. They’re constantly near the top of payroll figures and farm system rankings every year. However, the fan sentiment across all of baseball seems to be the Dodgers are the problem when in fact they’re not.
Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote about this after Los Angeles won the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. It made sense for them to be the top team to land the Japanese star pitcher, they have a strong history with players just like him. Hideo Nomo, Kaz Ishii, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all made their major league debuts with that franchise.
The Dodgers’ have gone into overdrive when it comes to acquiring star players over the past three offseasons, assembling a roster that is tough to beat. They’ve acquired Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Tyler Glasnow from other teams to spearhead their lineup and rotation. Because of that spending, it puts stress on the other owners to keep up in some way or get left behind.
Ironically enough, the two teams outside of New York and Los Angeles that have spent the most in free agency the past two offseasons have come inside the National League West. So while the division has had a natural response, the rest of baseball has not. Per BrooksGate, those two teams are the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Giants have been trying to sign a player to stay relevant, nearly signing Carlos Correa to a massive deal in the 2022-23 offseason, before landing Willy Adames in November. The Diamondbacks, has drastically increased spending after an unlikely postseason run to the World Series in 2023, including a takedown of the Dodgers in an NLDS sweep.
Diamondbacks serve as counterexample
Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick vowed to increase spending with the team performing better. So far he’s put his money where his mouth is. Arizona has had plenty of factors outside of their control that have limited revenue, including Diamond Sports dropping their television deal in bankruptcy court. Despite the issues with TV money, they’re still trying. With a record payroll in 2024, they improved their regular season win total by 5 games despite missing the playoffs.
Jim Rosati from the North Shore Nine Podcast posted a graphic on X on the 30 MLB teams and their spending.
When looking at the percentage spent relative to revenue, the Diamondbacks are actually fourth at 56.42%. Only the Mets (85.54%), Blue Jays (66.36%), and Rangers (56.62%) rank higher. That makes sense given that Steve Cohen, who is the richest owner in MLB, is flexing his own financial muscle. The Rangers are coming off a World Series win over the D-backs and continued to spend.
Over the years, both Kendrick and team president and CEO Derrick Hall have stated they do not pocket revenue and spend what they get. Obviously, payroll doesn’t account for all expenses for the franchise, although it’s the most significant and volatile.
Kendrick spoke to reporters, including Jack Sommers of Diamondbacks on SI, following the Corbin Burnes press conference on January 15th. The D-backs owner, who is now 81, said he’s aging out and looking for more team success before riding out in the sunset. It could be he’s had a taste of the ultimate success and wants to get back to the World Series before selling the team or passing it on to his own children.
If you look at the Diamondbacks history since the 2022 season, they’ve made all the right moves in terms of making them an attractive destination. They took care of their best two position players (Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll) and a fan-favorite with a lot of history playing in the state (Merrill Kelly).
That doesn’t go unnoticed by potential free agents. That’s why they’ve been able to bring in Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery, and Corbin Burnes. That’s why it’s important for good organizations to take care of their guys first.
The “Scrooges” in baseball
The real problem that the Dodgers may reveal the case of the big difference between the top and bottom-spending clubs. The Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates were both under 30%, a real problem. While the A’s have jumped their spending this offseason, with a slight nudge from the MLBPA, the Pirates have not. Rounding out the bottom five are the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Miami Marlins.
The A’s have increased their spending, albeit under threat of a grievance by the MLBPA if they don’t bring their Competitive Balance Tax number to at least $105 million (150% of the $70 million in revenue sharing they receive). They’ve also got reason to invest in their club, with a move to Las Vegas looming and a solid final 64 games played (32-32 record).
The Tigers and Orioles will be stress-tested to see if they’ll spend to keep their competitive window open. They’re competitive clubs with quality young talent they should try to lock up for the long term.
Riley Greene, the Tigers’ best position player, is an extension candidate. Coming off a 5.4 bWAR season at 23, the Tigers should see him as a building block and make that move. A Tarik Skubal extension is unlikely given he’s a Scott Boras client with two years of service time and the strong likelihood he could reset the market for starting pitchers.
Baltimore has a pair of young players that are up for extensions. Both Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson come to mind, especially with the cost of the latter drastically increasing. They should already have a good idea of the potential price of an extension, as it should be in the ballpark to what Bobby Witt Jr. got from the Royals.
The Pirates are another team that can start turning things around with one move: extending Paul Skenes. Skenes is the biggest star prospect to debut on the major league stage since Shohei Ohtani seven years ago. By locking him up to a long-term extension, the Pirates would send shockwaves through the baseball world saying this is our guy and he’s the guy we’re building the next great team around. Pittsburgh has already locked up Ke’Bryan Hayes to an extension recently, so it’s not uncharted territory.