Money doesn’t always buy championships, but it can help.
Last offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers were able to go all-in with the ridiculous amount of money in the owners’ pockets. As a result, the Dodgers signed designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and pitcher Tyler Glasnow.
If you add those players to outfielder Mookie Betts, first baseman Freddie Freeman, and catcher Will Smith, the Dodgers will have spent $2 billion guaranteed to them.
The Dodgers went even further this season to acquire pitcher Blake Snell and former Korean League star and second baseman Hyeseong Kim. The Dodgers have the most talented roster in the league, and it isn’t close.
Many people, including fans and experts, have argued that Major League Baseball should implement a salary cap. These people believe that all teams should have a fair competitive advantage.
Then there are experts like MLB Players Association director Tony Clark, who oppose the salary cap. Clark is for player empowerment and maximizing their value.
He does, however, see the free reign that not having a salary cap can cause in the league and for other teams.
Clark told The Athletic’s Evan Drellich about his stance on the salary cap and how the Dodgers’ ownership is taking advantage of player empowerment.
“It isn’t a cap on the franchise values,” Clark said. “It isn’t a cap on salaries that are for … non-players. It isn’t a cap on any of those things. And so I can appreciate that in the other sports that fans have grown up seeing caps in those industries. Our game hasn’t had one, has continued to grow and do well.”
Other teams have used their incredibly rich ownership to buy loaded teams, but Clark emphasizes that this year’s Dodgers team is the one that will stretch the integrity of the game.