Do you respect the Dodgers?

[Jatalk]

If you don’t respect the Dodgers you don’t understand business, marketing and success. They have had some advantages given to them by MLB. They are in a large market and they have spent money. But bottom line is they have won. Championships, profit, increased franchise value.

If you don’t respect them stop whining and tip your cap.

I respect neither you nor your opinion. Your first sentence says all I need to know. Is your last name Busch?

I’m crushed.

[Mort Gage]

The Dodgers have Fangraph's third rated farm system (Cards are first). To be ranked that highly while the MLB team won back to back titles indicates a well-run organization. Sure, they throw around money but that is on top of a solid foundation.

[rbirules]

The Dodgers have Fangraph's third rated farm system (Cards are first). To be ranked that highly while the MLB team won back to back titles indicates a well-run organization. Sure, they throw around money but that is on top of a solid foundation.

I'm not sure you can be so dismissive of their spending power. It allows you to buy down contracts in trades to get better returns, or take on bad contracts to pay less in trades. Both help your farm system.

The Dodgers had a payroll close to $230M higher than the Cardinals (ignoring the luxury tax on top of that) in 2025. That papers over a ton of mistakes.

Ohtani - $70 (ignoring deferals)
Snell - $36
Glasnow - $30
Yamamoto - $30 (starting in 2027, $16M now)
Freeman - $27
Betts - $30
Total - $223

That's six franchise players, and one of them is really two players in one (and we're ignoring massive deferrals). Four SPs better than Gray, an elite DH, a star 1B, and a star RF/2B/SS. Or pick Hernandez instead of Betts if you prefer and take $10M off that total ($213, still have $17M to spend to get to the Dodgers level).

[Talkin' Baseball]

The Dodgers have Fangraph's third rated farm system (Cards are first). To be ranked that highly while the MLB team won back to back titles indicates a well-run organization. Sure, they throw around money but that is on top of a solid foundation.

I'm not sure you can be so dismissive of their spending power. It allows you to buy down contracts in trades to get better returns, or take on bad contracts to pay less in trades. Both help your farm system.

The Dodgers had a payroll close to $230M higher than the Cardinals (ignoring the luxury tax on top of that) in 2025. That papers over a ton of mistakes.

Ohtani - $70 (ignoring deferals)
Snell - $36
Glasnow - $30
Yamamoto - $30 (starting in 2027, $16M now)
Freeman - $27
Betts - $30
Total - $223

That's six franchise players, and one of them is really two players in one (and we're ignoring massive deferrals). Four SPs better than Gray, an elite DH, a star 1B, and a star RF/2B/SS. Or pick Hernandez instead of Betts if you prefer and take $10M off that total ($213, still have $17M to spend to get to the Dodgers level).

They also fill major holes with money and leave their farm system completely intact. Most teams diminish their farm system to do so.

[C-Unit]

Or do you consider them simply a product of the most $$$ spent?

I do not believe the team deserves to be ranked as one of baseball's all-time best teams.

I simply consider them bought and paid for. Very similar to my thoughts on players who used steroids.

No respect.

Opti

The Yankees have an equivalent sized market, but do not currently have a dynasty. Do you look at the Yankees more favorably?

[C-Unit]

The Dodgers have Fangraph's third rated farm system (Cards are first). To be ranked that highly while the MLB team won back to back titles indicates a well-run organization. Sure, they throw around money but that is on top of a solid foundation.

I'm not sure you can be so dismissive of their spending power. It allows you to buy down contracts in trades to get better returns, or take on bad contracts to pay less in trades. Both help your farm system.

The Dodgers had a payroll close to $230M higher than the Cardinals (ignoring the luxury tax on top of that) in 2025. That papers over a ton of mistakes.

Ohtani - $70 (ignoring deferals)
Snell - $36
Glasnow - $30
Yamamoto - $30 (starting in 2027, $16M now)
Freeman - $27
Betts - $30
Total - $223

That's six franchise players, and one of them is really two players in one (and we're ignoring massive deferrals). Four SPs better than Gray, an elite DH, a star 1B, and a star RF/2B/SS. Or pick Hernandez instead of Betts if you prefer and take $10M off that total ($213, still have $17M to spend to get to the Dodgers level).

Great summary in bold.

It papers not only the other mistakes, but also the injury track record of some of those players themselves.

Snell and Glasnow are two fairly injury-prone pitchers, especially Glasnow. The Dodgers have the luxury of being able to sign those guys not expecting or needing them to pitch a full season. The deals they have those pitchers on would probably looked at as very high risk deals if they were on any other team.

I'd give the Dodgers credit for making the most of what their market affords them. In other words, I suppose I'd characterize their front office as "ambitious" moreso than smart.

[AtillaTheBlue1]

no, they have spent close to 5billion trying to buy winners.

they spent 3.3+ billion to get a covid aided victory and continued buying players


its embarrassing, not neat or cool

[opti mist]

Thanks to all. Very interesting responses and well-stated.

It has me thinking in broader terms.

Cannot argue with success.

Opti

[desertrat23]

Thanks to all. Very interesting responses and well-stated.

It has me thinking in broader terms.

Cannot argue with success.

Opti

It's a fair question and an interesting conversation, thanks.

[scoutyjones2]

Or do you consider them simply a product of the most $$$ spent?

I do not believe the team deserves to be ranked as one of baseball's all-time best teams.

I simply consider them bought and paid for. Very similar to my thoughts on players who used steroids.

No respect.

Opti

Neither. Just don't care either way

[Rojo Johnson]

If you don’t respect the Dodgers you don’t understand business, marketing and success. They have had some advantages given to them by MLB. They are in a large market and they have spent money. But bottom line is they have won. Championships, profit, increased franchise value.

If you don’t respect them stop whining and tip your cap.

I respect neither you nor your opinion. Your first sentence says all I need to know. Is your last name Busch?

I’m crushed.

If I had only known . Stop whining, Francis.

[CCard]

Or do you consider them simply a product of the most $$$ spent?

I do not believe the team deserves to be ranked as one of baseball's all-time best teams.

I simply consider them bought and paid for. Very similar to my thoughts on players who used steroids.

No respect.

Opti

Whichever you believe, but free agency is a huge part of the game as it now stands. They've don't most everything they could in free agency to bring back to back championships to their fans. I respect that. Did they have good fortune with Ohtani and Yamamoto? Of course. It would be nice if players wanted to come to St Louis. But the best players want to play on the biggest stages and so it goes. Until baseball addresses the unequal factors in baseball, it's going to continue. Decades ago billionaires weren't as prevalent as they are now, and some of them are in it to win it. Some just act like they want to win it.

[ScotchMIrish]

Or do you consider them simply a product of the most $$$ spent?

I do not believe the team deserves to be ranked as one of baseball's all-time best teams.

I simply consider them bought and paid for. Very similar to my thoughts on players who used steroids.

No respect.

Opti

No. If we get a legitimate payroll cap and the Dodgers win with the same payroll as everybody else then I'll change my mind.

Do you feel the same way of every team with a high payroll that won a World Series? What if Toronto won? of Philadelphia? What is your high horse threshold? Nope the Dodgers are a model franchise for sure.

Friedman does the best job of running a team with a payroll in the $350 million range. Toronto is big payroll but they are $90 million behind the Dodgers.

[cardstatman]

I definitely respect the Dodgers players, several of whom were the best player on another team recently.

The Dodgers front office has managed to not be incompetent and blow their boatloads of money as most rich teams do. They get the advantage of taking huge risks on high upside, injury prone players, and babying them to be healthy around playoff time. If the risk blows up, they can afford it, but they know they will win some of those risks.

Recently, the Dodgers have benefited greatly from several other rich teams not spending as they could spend. While the Dodgers payroll exceeds the Cardinals revenue, there are other MLB teams who can spend close to their level, but they do not. Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Phillies, Blue Jays, Texas, Houston, Braves. With few others bidding against them, the Dodgers have a amassed a large percentage of the best free agents.

The Giants won 3 World Series in 5 years recently. Then they didn't win any more. I suspect the Dodgers time will come to an end soon, too, but like the Yankees, they will always field a competitive team, just maybe not championship caliber anymore.

I suspect the Dodgers would be pretty darn good with John Mozeliak as their POBO and their front office would be quite a bit less successful if they were running the St Louis Cardinals.

[cardstatman]

LAA Ohtani
BOS Betts
ATL Freeman
OAK Muncy
HOU/SEA Hernandez
STL Edman
Japan Yamamoto
TBR/SFG Snell
PIT/TBR Glasnow
Japan Sasaki
BAL/SDP Scott
OAK Treinen

If the Dodgers moved their franchise to St Louis, they would have to have a fire sale immediately.

St Louis has to find a different way to win. It is not as easy.

When an 8th grader dominates the 4th grade basketball team, that's not always deserving of a whole lot of respect.

[brock118]

They also constantly are picking up other teams international bonus pool money in trades. Many teams Including the Cardinals, don't use all their money and use it to trade. Allowing the Dodgers to sign more international players. Plus with more money you can increase your scouting payroll immensely and your developmental payroll as well. Betts is a perfect example, they had to take on David Price and his $17 million contract in trade. Price was basically a long reliever at that point. No other team can pay a long reliever $17 million a year for multiple years to do basiically nothing but take up space in the bullpen.