The Los Angeles Dodgers have been extremely quiet in the free-agent market this offseason, as their only Major League signing to this point was with reliever Tom Koehler. Of course, the Dodgers are hardly alone as their seemingly has been a freeze put on spending across MLB.
One reason for that is the the Dodgers, along with other clubs, would like to remain below the luxury tax threshold this season. For Los Angeles, it would mean no longer paying a 50-percent tax for every dollar they spend over the $197 million threshold.
If they stay under in 2018 then the tax rate resets to 20 percent, and the Dodgers would then have as much as $100 million to spend on next offseason’s free agency class which could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson and their own ace, Clayton Kershaw, among many others.
Kershaw recently commented on the organization’s lack of spending, saying he understands it as he believes the team in place is good enough to return to and win the World Series, but he also would not be opposed to them going over the tax threshold, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“It’s tough. Our team that we have is so good, obviously. And we know that,” Kershaw said. “I think more than anything, it’s not just the Dodgers, but the way the market is going right now, in general. Everybody talks about the C.B.T. and all this stuff about which teams can’t spend, which teams can spend. Maybe that’s on the player’s association for what we agreed to, but at the same time, we don’t care if they go over [the threshold]. They’ve made enough money where they can spend money if they need to.”
For Kershaw to become a free agent next offseason it would require him opting out of his current contract, which he is likely to do. So the Dodgers getting below the threshold this year is partly so they can have the money to re-sign him next winter if they choose.
The tax threshold being in place is turning out to be a bigger problem than anyone could have expected. With less than a month until the start of Spring Training, many of the top free agents on the market remain unsigned.
One of those free agents is Yu Darvish, who the Dodgers traded for at last year’s non-waiver deadline. Kershaw and Darvish have been working out together in Texas this offseason, and while Kershaw may want him back, the Chicago Cubs are currently considered the favorite to sign him.
