Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter asserts no directive came from ownership to keep the Dodgers’ payroll under the luxury tax, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The decision-making is trusted entirely to team president Stan Kasten and president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman, who kept the Dodgers under the tax line last season and have thus far done the same this winter. Kasten defended the Dodgers’ spending last month at their annual FanFest, reminding listeners that the Dodgers are among the biggest spenders in the league, while touting the incentives available for teams who stay under the tax. In the aggregate, the Dodgers seem united in their organizational philosophy, taking what’s become the popular position league-wide, that while spending beyond the tax line is, in theory, worthwhile under certain circumstances, the prudent path is to remain under the tax line whenever possible. The qualifier the Dodgers can add here, is that it’s prudent for them because they continue to win their division. With 6 straight division titles and a seventh in the offing (or so say projections), spending beyond the tax line could be viewed as a form of gluttony. To their point, the Dodgers have made strides to improve their club with the additions of A.J. Pollock, Joe Kelly and Russell Martin. Still, their abstention from the Manny Machado and Bryce Harper sweepstakes continues to needle some people outside the organization, prompting these kinds of rebuttals from Dodger leadership. Now, let’s check in on some player news from the NL West…
- Yasmany Tomas had a disappointing 2018 that saw his removal from the Diamondbacks 40-man roster as he languished the entire season at Triple A, his first season without a major league appearance since 2015 when he made the trip stateside. It may appear particularly grim from the outside, but Tomas views last season as one of his more productive years, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Regardless of how you view Tomas’ 2018 – a year in which he hit just .262/.280/.465 in Triple A – Tomas has a legitimate opportunity to make the Arizona roster. If he can provide enough defense at first and/or in the outfield corners, he (theoretically) fits nicely as a right-handed option to Jake Lamb at first. His power output as never been at issue, as Tomas has slugged wherever he’s been, but it’s every other aspect of the game that will make-or-break the 28-year-old’s shot at the big leagues.
- Giants Rule 5 draft selection Drew Ferguson is more analytically-focused than your typical outfield prospect, writes the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman. To get a better gauge on flyball trajectories, Ferguson studies wind speed, park dimensions and surface temperatures to prepare. He is studious, no doubt, but sticking with the Giants all season long is the challenge he faces. The 26-year-old will need to stay on the active roster or the injured list or else be returned to the Astros, who drafted him in the 19th round in 2015. Ferguson made it as far as Triple A in each of the last two seasons for Houston, where in 2018 he hit .305/.436/.429. After impressing with an overall batting line of .297/.393/.455. across four minor league seasons, Ferguson should get a longer leash in San Francisco, who hopes to deploy him as a right-handed complement for Stevan Duggar. Ferguson faces competition from a broad if not very deep group that includes Cameron Maybin, Mac Williamson, Gerardo Parra, Yangervis Solarte, Chris Shaw, Austin Slater, Craig Gentry, Mike Gerber and John Andreoli. At present, the Giants not only have an open competition for backup roles, but the starting jobs in both corners are up for grabs as well, providing Ferguson more than a fair shake to make the team.
It is interesting how everyone wants to spend the money of others..granted the dodgers are being a bit too thrifty at times lately but that being said maybe they just didnt like the two big targets and think they are over priced? They had one of the two on their roster and cant say he was an overwhelming influence that they felt they needed to keep for that dough.The biggest complainers for the big market teams not spending on these type of players are the players themselves and their agents who cant “use” them like in the past.
And where does that money come from, pray tell?
From the tree, of course.
I understand that if you pray real hard to the baseball gods, it will rain down from the heavens.
I think this is a “business rights” perspective that most of us don’t value at all.
Spending doesn’t equal winning regardless of what anyone on the take from Boras will tell ya. A 10mil dollar player doesn’t make a significant difference when two .600 win% teams play in the playoffs, it’s less than .5%. It’s still 50/50 to win a playoff series against another .600 win% team.
Why should the dodgers or cubs, Yankees anyone else will blow past the Lux tax right now on players? Players will lower there demands and they’ll get the player for less money. If the players don’t like that than they should tell Tony Clark, his absurd negotiation tactics failed last time and fire him yesterday.
God this was painful to read
Amen
Facts are inconvenient
dodgers don’t fool me… they’re not spending their money on any of these inconsistent bats… They already have a competitive lineup… I believe they will wait until 2020 and pony up the $ to put that one consistent bat in the middle of their lineup that will make them go:
Mike Trout
Walter, Friedman and Kasten are all on the same page for sure. On that page it says in large bold letters, “maximize the profitability of Dodger, Inc.” That’s done by winning a weak division and hoping to get lucky with what comes next. Teams that want to win the big prize have a different plan.
It’s too bad the dodgers have finished last two years in a row
It’s too bad they haven’t brought home a world championship in 30 years. That’s what Dodger fans are really thinking, but thanks for asking.
You are spot on. The Dodgers have the money, but a few weanesses that spending would have addressed. I hope they lose in the pkayoffs again, not because I am a Giants fan, but because I can’t stand seeing huge market clubs half a%# it.
I’m sure spending $100m would have won those games against the Red Sox.
I’m sure there are dodger fans who feel exactly the way you do. However that’s not true of all of us. I’n a dodger fan as well, please don’t write as if you speak for me. Without any substantive evidence, you make the specious and pejorative assumption that the decision not to offer long-term contracts to FAs this year and in previous years is about profitability and not to sustain long-term competitiveness. Some dodger fans actually believe the FO statements that their primary objective is competitiveness year in and year out. Many dodger fans here support the decisions of management. I understand that I don’t speak for all dodger fans; but, sir, neither do you. So please in the future speak for yourself but don’t generalize.
Here, here, norcalblue. Always the same with blue sky
I’m not pretending to speak for everyone so no need to be so silly about this. You should try hanging out with more Dodger fans, like at games for instance. You’d hear from a lot of fans who judge ownership by what they do, not by what they say.
Last thing anyone should do is listen to fans opinions. Least relevant opinion out of everyone in baseball. Hot dog vendor has a more valuable opinion.
Yup, the fans that demand these ridiculous, stupid money FA contracts and trades of prospects are the same one’s screaming in the stands when their team has dead contracts that force 4-6 year rebuilds.
Someone should go back and retrieve the comments made here by “fans” who were elated by the signings by their teams of Ellsbury, Cano, Cueto, Melancon, Samardzija, Hosmer, Heyward, Kemp, Pujols, Cabrera. Now what are they saying?
Did the Dodgers really improve? From Grandal to Russell is a down grade. When you look at Pollock/Puig production against each other, it seems pretty lateral to me. They get Seater back so assuming he doesn’t miss a step, that’s definitely an upgrade, though Taylor at least swang a pretty good bat.
I’m just making a surface evaluation so would love to read some Dodger fan thoughts on whether the Dodgers upgraded as a whole or not. The Diamond Backs sure are out on this one and I don’t recall the Rockies making any upgrades. Could be wrong.
The main reason the Dodgers upgraded is last years team massivley under achieved in the regular season. They should have easily been a 100 win team based off the production, and there were some very clumsy losses that wont be happening this year. The only real loss will be the lack of offense from catcher, but you also wont have Martin/Barnes dropping balls like they glove was soaked in butter
You can’t up upgrade ‘because of the past.’
Weren’t you the one praising grandals defense before he signed to MIL? Saying that “it was just one series”. So now that he’s gone, all of a sudden you go back to the “Grandal is bad defensively” narrative huh? Yeah, okay.
Have you been hallucinating because i have never said anything remotely close to that. It must be fun to just make stuff up in your head
No, they didn’t improve. They’ve regressed in terms of 2019 on field talent. But I guess they’ve put themselves in a better long term position. They’re still the best in the NL.
Full disclosure, Not a Doger fan, however, Dodgers achieved a hell of a deal when they dumped Kemp & Puig on the hapless Reds – Both are platoon players. YES! , IF AJ Pollock can stay healthy any “lateral” move away from the distractions and drama of baby sitting Puig is a good “Team” move.
If you believe the projections from Baseball Prospectus, the team has lateraled. Just looking at the moves (and lack of them) tells the same story. I can see the advantages of swapping out Puig for Pollock but nothing else they’ve done suggests improvement. They badly needed help at the back end of the pen and got Kelly. Can’t imagine what they are seeing in his regular season numbers that I’m not but he sure doesn’t look like what the doctor ordered. Two catchers who could very well struggle to reach the Mendoza line. A lot of banking on Seager to come back strong after missing an entire season seems unrealistic. The division offers weak competition but not for long and winning another division means little to Dodger fans at this point.
Martin’s BABIP was well below his career norm last year. I think with some positive regression in that area you have a useful catcher. He still draws walks at a healthy clip and I think he still has 15 Hr pop in his bat. He’s not Grandal offensively anymore but I think he can get the job done. If he doesn’t have the yips behind the plate in October all the better.
You said spend money on the bullpen. They finally did on a guy that throws 98+ and has a nasty changeup.
Other than how hard he throws, point to an encouraging regular season stat.
2017 regular season stats are fine across the board. He made an adjustment in October that clearly worked for him. He also doesnt have the wear and tear guys like Miller and Familia had who signed similar deals
Not sure why you always feel comfortable speaking for Dodger fans.
Taylor is also an upgrade over Forsythe and Utley.
Not sure about your question but am concerned with your use of the word “swang.”
Winning the division is meaningless, other than as a near necessary step toward the valuable result. Championships are the only thing that matter. Divisions are a good measurement for teams already winning their fair share of championships. Winning a division without that isn’t a measure of success, it’s an attempted mitigation of failure, and a failed one.
smh…..
Division titles mean something for everybody. However when you’re a team like the Dodgers or the Indians right now it shouldn’t mean much more than that necessary stepping stone. They even more so than a team with recent division titles and enormous expectations IE Boston or Houston shouldn’t be satisfied just taking the division crown. Been too close for too long. Has to be the time to go over the top.
I understand your perspective, but I disagree that they mean something for everyone. They do in addition to championships, but without championships they are an excuse. I believe there are only two types of successful seasons.
1) A season in which you win a championship.
2) A season which builds to a nearly immediate championship.
I also believe this to be absolute. Which makes the 2012 Cubs a success at 61-101, and the ’91-94 Buffalo Bills a failure, for example.
Winning divisions being a success would give owners an excuse to be smug when they win a division that’s bad while not really going for it. The current Indians, and the Pirates from a few years ago are a good example of this.
The Dodgers not signing any of Machado and Harper, leaves $$$ for the likes of Seager, Bueller and Bellinger when the time comes. They are still loaded all throughout there farm system. So they are still in a very good position to make moves at the deadline, if need be.
I don’t think teams really roll money forward to future years like that. Profits gets dispersed to shareholders and they’re gone forever . Dodgers aren’t banking money now for future contract extensions.
Ferguson is a defensive stud. Hope to see him instead of Maybin.
The upside about the Giants outfield this year is that with all those options, some combination of players HAS to be better than their 2018 outfield. I’m excited to hear that Ferguson is going to get every chance possible to earn a spot on the 25.
Teams should not be allowed to spend more than $200m but not less than $200m
So, all the talk of getting under the salary cap so the Dodgers could pursue Harper were either lies or media BS. I was so hoping they’d at least bring in Harper and trade for Kluber.
A lot of wishful thinking. Some of us knew better.
Of course you did.
Yup and got the same reaction months ago when I said the same thing and the same a year ago when I said the top priority was staying under the CBT. But I guess you’re saying I was wrong for being right. Makes total sense.
At least bring in Harper AND trade for Kluber? Boy, you don’t ask for much!
Those were the rumors at one time. Going on 31 years since the last championship, so of course I’d ask for a lot……..
Want a good rule change? Take the minimum salary floor from the NFL. It’s like $12 million below the hard cap. Stretching out that distribution in MLB makes sense as player longevity is better, thereby rewarding drafting well. For right now, make the number $130 million, then prorate its annual acceleration based upon club revenue/profit growth. If there really are teams that could not afford this, revenue sharing could balance their inability to pay.
Either that, or mandate under the CBA that teams disclose their full books like a corporation, like the Braves must, except require an external auditor to audit and sign off on it. In that case these teams like the Pirates real profits will be disclosed, and fans can see where the money is going. Don’t post that “right to privacy for private business” stuff. I don’t care. MLB has an antitrust exemption, they’re not normal businesses. Congress could probably make their exemption contingent on public disclosures. Certainly MLB can make it so in the CBA.
If that was the case you might be more disgusted with how gaudy the NYY profit margins look v some of the others. Don’t think you’ll ever see that day occur but it would sure shake things up.
I’m good with letting the rich get rich. I’m not good with letting teams not fully invest in success while crying poor. It’s meant to shake things up.
Open books will make it add up. Owners won’t be able to pull that nonsense. And not really, for me I’d say I’m just interested in what’s overall good for the game. And by good for the game, I mean good for the fans and the on-field product. The owners profits simply aren’t part of that equation at all. Win, and if you do it, go ahead and get rich. I don’t believe it’s ok to make money if you don’t win.
I don’t know what happened with my post but I mostly agree with you. I don’t think it’s a crime to make money if you don’t win but there is a threshold for what that % would be. They do have 100’s of millions/billions in to these teams and are fully entitled to taking profits even on the worst teams but raking in crazy margins on a complete loser year after year is a complete joke. Opening the books would certainly force some accountability on the owners and would probably put an end to the publicly funded stadium fiasco. It’d be a lot harder to defend the public dollars spent when you see the private dollars being raked in.
I’m all for this too. But let’s say the owners and shareholders are accustomed to getting their cut. If there is less revenue because they spent it on players, then that’s less for the owners/shareholders. An extra $30M on a player might be the difference between getting a fully loaded Mercedes Benz and a “tacky” BMW for their kids. And we can’t have them riding around, looking like us commoners.
Sorry but I don’t think that fans have the inherent right to know the private financial information of a business. What makes you think they owe that to us? If you were a part owner, then yes, you’d have a right. But they are certainly not obligated to provide this information to you, me, or any other fan
Since the MLB is a govt sanctioned monopoly I’d say every citizen has a right to know the finances of the monopoly.
Yeah, similar to public utilities. They have to publicize financial records and request rate increases. You get into antitrust exemptions, it’s not just another private business. Businesses with those exemptions are overseen under a far higher level of scrutiny.
That said, I really don’t care for their right to private information. It legally exists currently, but given the antitrust exemption and the fact that there’s a CBA, that can be legislated around in either situation. I’m not suggesting that it’s currently required, I’m suggesting that it easily can be required through either of those mechanisms. Additionally, it could be required as a condition of stadium financial grants.
If you’re asking do I fundamentally support the right to keep this information secret because they’re a private business, the answer is no. Private businesses are often regulated as the intention of such regulation, and ultimately such a business in the first place, is to inherently benefit/protect the consumer. Antitrust laws, monopoly laws, and in most cases the lack of laws, are there solely to benefit production, innovation, and consumers as a whole, promote innovation and quality products, and reward it financially. It’s intention is not to protect business rights, it’s that business rights most often create a better product or economic situation for consumers. Where it doesn’t create that, like in the case of natural monopolies or economies of scale, we regulate it to ensure the best case for consumers. These business freedoms are not designed to give businesses rights, they’re designed to incentivize the right things, the things we as an economy desire, and benefit consumers.
End game? We protect business rights only to benefit consumers, not businesses, and when ever deregulation worsens the system for the consumers, we can and should, and do regulate to correct it.
Do you recall when the Rams moved to St Louis? Did you know that the city guaranteed the Rams sellouts for the first 5 years. Hmm, I wonder whose money did the city use. Anyway, the fans were upset as were city officials prompting the team to make changes which ended up appearing in back to back SB’s, winning one.
I’m pretty damn sure that Friedman will continue to bring in players with a history of injuries because they can get them for bargain basement prices. So, how many years must fans put up with Friedman’s band aid brigades?
The Dodgers spend plenty of money. Leave them alone haters!
I know many people have criticize the Dodgers for not giving up into these ridiculous 10-12 years commitment or trading out our top young catchers to get Realmuto. As a Dodger fan, I’m happy with the team they have put together, knowing that we have so much talent in our minor leagues and are financially flexible to make any trades at any moment. Our leadership has proven that they are capable of taking the Dodgers to the World Series on a back to back seasons, we should have won at least one, but players really underperform at the World Series and the leadership are not pitching or batting. I’m sure the Dodgers will surprise us again at the trade deadline and we will have additional pieces at a more flexible price and commitment.
Yep!
I fully understand why teams need to spend less. Baseball now has a salary cap which if you go over, you pay big money and eventually affect you draft position. With revenue growing every year the cap should also grow and I don’t mean at a snails pace.
Dodgers aren’t pushing for Harper because they are gonna stay under until Trout is available. Then they will spend heavily. The FO knows what they are doing. They aren’t jumping the gun yet
Only one team can land Trout and so far fans from every big spending team out there seems to think they will land him. What happens if the Phillies get him and the Dodgers miss out? Does that mean passing on Harper was a good move? I doubt the powers that be in any organization base their current spending on one player that may or may not be available in the future. The Dodgers didn’t go after Stanton, passed on Machado and Harper, I think it’s fair to say the Freidman isn’t a supporter of massive contracts. I believe that is the exact reason he was brought in from the Rays.
I’ve been a Dodger fan since 1971. so yes, it is really frustrating that the last championship was in 1988. At that time, it was such a miracle, I had a gut feeling that it would be a good while until the next one. I just didn’t think it would be this long. The Dodgers gained with the loss of Grandal. They could have put a statue behind the plate, thrown to it, and had a better chance of getting someone out at home. Grandal is a DH; too bad Milwaukee changed leagues several years back. Martin is now in L.A. to shore up the defense and to help teach the several young catchers, Barnes included, who the Dodgers now have. Within a year or so, teams will be begging the Dodgers for their surplus catchers. Keibert Ruiz will be a star in L.A., but perhaps not until 2020 or 2021.
The Dodgers are not saving money for any one player. It seems that Friedman doesn’t believe in handing out large long term deals to anyone who is not already on the Dodgers. Friedman sometimes overvalues some of the prospects. I think I read in 2017 that the Dodgers could have traded Verdugo for Yelich before the Marlins sent him to the Brewers. If it’s true, that was a horrible mistake.
There was no way on earth Verdugo alone would have got them Yelich
Finally, I wish Kasten and Friedman would take some public relations lessons from a professional because they often appear smug and arrogant. After I watched the Dodgers/Angels Spring Training game on Sunday, it now seems to be rubbing off on Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser. Lastly, the words “obvious” and “obviously” should be banned from the team’s vocabulary. Every one who works for the Dodgers should be fined $1,000.00 with the money going to charity or the Dodgers Dream Foundation each time one of them says it. Nobody on that team, whether player, coach, executive, or announcer, can get through one day without using some form of the word “obvious.” It began when Don Mattingly was the manager, and it’s only gotten worse. I can’t be the only one who has noticed it.
The orioles of old would’ve been a prime time candidate for Yasmany Tomas. Had the D’Backs paid 95% of his salary. That’s a player Angelos would’ve been all over.
Let me split this run on sentence for you:
“In the aggregate, the Dodgers seem united in their organizational philosophy, taking what’s become the popular position league-wide. While spending beyond the tax line is worthwhile under certain circumstances in theory, the prudent path is to remain under the tax line whenever possible.”
I’m still recovering from being slapped in the face by that dense-as-all-get-out opening paragraph.
I thought Tomas in the corner OF was already a closed experiment. Let’s hope he is able to maintain himself afloat at 1B but I guess Walker will win the competition for that platoon spot. He can always be called up later this season from Reno, it’s not that anyone will claim Tomas.