The reigning World Series champions already have the rest of the league up in arms over their payroll, but that hasn’t stopped them from spending big once again this week.
The Dodgers have reached a tentative agreement with free agent closer Kirby Yates, Bob Nightengale reported Tuesday.
The deal, which is reportedly pending a physical, comes just days after the team brought in former San Diego Padres reliever Tanner Scott on a four-year, $72 million contract amid a string of high-profile, big-money signings.
Dodgers keep checkbook wide open
Major League Baseball’s luxury tax system is supposed to prevent teams from increasing their spending. Yet here we are, watching Rob Manfred and MLB management turn a blind eye while the Dodgers turn their books into a creative writing project
They have $1,006,500,000 – that’s one billion with a B – in deferred payments owed to players between 2028 and 2046
Blake Snell, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and even Teoscar Hernandez (who somehow has the least objectionable deal of the group) are all part of LA’s futuristic installment payment plan.
Imagine this: it’s the year 2046. We have flying cars, robots mowing the lawn and Blake Snell is resting in his rocking chair while the Los Angeles Dodgers are still sending him checks for the work he finished two decades ago. The man will be retired long enough to collect Social Security and the Dodgers will still be paying him as if he were a Cy Young candidate.
How is this kind of situation exactly good for parity, for competition and for baseball, with huge inequality in spending and type of hiring?
Fans are furious with the Dodgers, Rob Manfred and MLB
And rival fans, and even some Dodgers supporters, have expressed fury that the Californian’s offseason player recruitment business has made Major League Baseball pointless.
“This is embarrassing for MLB,” one social media user said, reacting to Tuesday’s news.
“Boycott Major League Baseball,” posted one furious baseball fan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Yes… boycott Major League Baseball,” repeated another.
“No one should watch baseball this season, honestly. What a waste,” commented a fourth user.
Others branded the Dodgers’ overspending as “disgusting” and “ridiculous”, as they insisted the franchise was ruining the sport on its own.
“The Dodgers spend more money and try to buy another championship. This league is a joke,” said one user.
“Bro. No way. They have genuinely ruined baseball,” fumed another.
“This shit is ruining MLB… There has to be a fucking limit. This is ridiculous,” added a third rival fan.
And it wasn’t just their rivals who felt frustrated, as one Dodgers fan posted: “Baseball is officially broken and I’m done. I’ve cheered for the Dodgers my whole life watching Garvey, Valenzuela, Kershaw, etc., but I’m done.”
However, some social media users claimed that the Dodgers were not to blame, and instead pointed to MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred.
“I’m not going to blame the Dodgers, MLB and the other 29 owners are to blame,” one fan said.
“It’s okay, Manfred, it’s time to step in and shame the players for being as soft as ever and joining the super team instead of trying to beat them,” said another, urging the commissioner to take action.
“It’s all Manfred’s fault for not stopping the deferrals. Ohtani’s deal should never have happened. It opened the floodgates,” insisted another, referring to two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract.
With their pitching staff, they look unstoppable from now on
The Dodgers already had elite relievers such as Blake Treinen (1.93 ERA in 2024), Brusdar Graterol (2.45 ERA) and starter-turned-reliever Michael Kopech (2.54 ERA in 24 innings with the team last season).
And with the recent additions of top-tier starters such as former San Francisco Giants ace Blake Snell and 23-year-old Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki, not to mention the return of injured pitchers such as Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow, rival fans’ jitters may be justified.
However, not all of the Dodgers’ stars were lured with nine- and 10-figure sums. Sasaki, for example, could only sign for $5 million due to MLB rules that limit teams’ bonus pool money for prospects
If he had waited until he had accumulated six full seasons in Japan and turned 25, as his new teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto did last year, Sasaki would not have faced any restrictions on his new contract.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract in Los Angeles on his way to a World Series title in his rookie season.
The team’s most notorious contract belongs to Ohtani, who arrived from the Los Angeles Angels last season on a 10-year, $700 million deal, a deal that still bothers rival fans.
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