The Los Angeles Dodgers once again added to their treasure trove of talented players by securing a commitment from Roki Sasaki to headline their 2025 international signing class.
The agreement comes at the backend of a torrid stretch of spending for the defending World Series champions, who have continued to flex their financial muscles since last offseason.
Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and Heyseong Kim were new additions before Sasaki arrived at his decision. The Dodgers also re-signed Teoscar Hernández and Blake Treinen, and reached a contract extension with Tommy Edman.
On Sunday morning, the team reportedly agreed to terms with Tanner Scott on a four-year contract.
The Dodgers’ aggressiveness, continued spending and success has come with criticism.
And when expressing a sentiment directed to Chicago Cubs fans, owner Tom Ricketts claimed the organization lacks the funds to keep up with the Dodgers and other teams with high payrolls, via 670 The Score:
“The business model in baseball, it’s worked pretty well for a long time, but there’s a few things right now that are just a little out of kilter,” Ricketts said on Inside the Clubhouse on Saturday morning. “Obviously, the Dodgers have a lot more resources, naturally, from smart business moves they made years ago. I don’t begrudge them any of that. Some teams just have outside resources that are funding their player moves and acquisitions, and that’s really hard to compete with. I understand when fans say, ‘How come you don’t spend like that?’ Because they think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn’t true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that’s about it.
“There’s a competitive balance issue that gets created. But the other problem is, I don’t think fans should spend all their time thinking about which teams have more money or how much they’re spending. We should talk about the players and who we draft and who we’re developing. I just think it becomes a big narrative that’s a distraction. So I think the model could get better.”
The Cubs rank near the top of teams across Major League Baseball in annual revenue. In fact, they brought in $506 million in 2023, third among any team.
Current estimates have the Cubs at roughly $198.3 million with payroll going into the 2025 season, which is short of the $241 million luxury tax threshold.
The Dodgers have allocated a projected $295 million to players on their 40-man roster and a collective bargaining tax of around $107 million, per Cots Baseball Contracts.
Teams could dive into the deep pockets they have, but not many owners to push the CBT number that is being taxed on every dollar spent.
Is Dodgers spending bad for baseball?
The argument is a nuanced one, because for teams like the Dodgers, if you make enough money and all deals handed out are within league rules, then by all means they are permitted to operate however the front office pleases.
For small market teams who simply lack the dollars generated to compete with those in larger markets, they have to find other ways to be competitive. Unfortunately, teams at the low end like to stay there with spending and not reach for many of the top free agents.
Talk of a salary cap in MLB would be accompanied by a floor, which owners who refuse to spend are unlikely to get on board with.
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