"The 'Dodgers are ruining baseball' discourse that dominated last winter included pleas for a salary cap from the owners of the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates. Congratulations, gentlemen, your teams are in last place. For you, the Dodgers are a handy scapegoat. But the discourse also included this take from the owner of the New York Yankees: "It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing," Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network."
"Tanner Scott stood in front of his locker late Friday night, at the latest low point in a miserable season. He had just given up a game-winning grand slam to a good-fielding catcher who walked to the plate batting .217. Scott, the Dodgers' $72-million closer, has an earned-run average of 5.01. He has pitched half as many innings as Clayton Kershaw and given up four more home runs. "It's terrible," Scott said. "I'm having the worst year of my life. I've got to be better.""
"After spending a billion dollars in the winter of 2023-24, the Dodgers dropped an encore worth half a billion on the rest of the league last winter. Of 11 key players that signed new contracts to stay with the Dodgers or free-agent contracts to join them, none have a WAR of even 2, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Angels last winter signed two free agents with a higher WAR than any of those Dodgers signees: starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and closer Kenley Jansen"
Owners of small-market teams pushed for a salary cap amid criticism that the Dodgers' spending was harming competitive balance. The Yankees owner acknowledged that most owners cannot match the Dodgers' acquisitions. The Dodgers spent heavily again last winter, committing roughly $500 million after a prior $1 billion offseason, yet many new and re-signed players have underperformed. Eleven key signees each have under 2 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.com, and rivals like the Angels signed free agents with higher WAR. Closer Tanner Scott has struggled, posting a 5.01 ERA and lamenting his performance. October results will shape whether the spending is judged successful.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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