The Los Angeles Dodgers took the MLB by storm this offseason with their loud front office moves.
The biggest move was the signing of mega-star Shohei Ohtani to a 10 year, $700 million deal, $680 million of which is deferred. Ohtani, who brings the ability to pitch and hit at an elite level, will be getting paid $2 million annually until 2033, allowing the team to make other moves to build the team around him. From 2034 to 2043, Ohtani will be getting paid $68 million a year.
The Dodgers then spent $325 million over 10 years to sign the other top free agent, highly touted Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who features an Ohtani-like splitter, a plus fastball, and a curve ball that among the most unique the game has seen.
The Dodgers were not done, trading for All-Star-caliber pitcher Tyler Glasnow and signing power-hitting outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to a one year, $23 million deal.
In 2023, the Dodgers were one of the best teams in baseball, winning 100 games to claim the NL West for the 10th time in 11 years. Although the Dodgers had another stellar regular season, they got swept in three games in NLDS to the low-star-power Arizona Diamondbacks, which barely claimed the last Wild Card spot.
The difference in their lineups is night and day. The Dodgers boast former MVP’s Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Arizona has smaller names. They are led by young star Corbin Carroll, but after that there isn’t much.
Since the playoff failure, the Dodgers decided to blow everyone out of the water this offseason to make sure that they don’t come up short again. Ownership spent a little more than $1 billion this offseason.
So, this begs the question: Should there be a salary cap in the MLB? The simple answer is no.
Going to the Dodgers is an extremely desirable destination for any free agent. Their star power and recent winning pedigree is hard to match. So it’s difficult to blame players for choosing to play for a winner in sunny Southern California compared to a team that has one anomaly of a winning season since 2017.
The big dogs want to play with the big dogs. They don’t want to play for a team with Wilmer Flores hitting third in the lineup. If teams like the Giants want to get these franchise changing players, then they have to put in the money and effort to make the team a consistent contender.
Many think the Dodgers are ruining baseball and that a salary cap needs to be established to balance the competitiveness of the league, but the opposite is true. If you don’t like what the Dodgers are doing, build a team and try to stop them.