The Dodgers have brought Teoscar HernĆ”ndez back on a three-year deal. The Republik Sports client is reportedly guaranteed $66MM, including a $23MM signing bonus. There’s a little more than $23MM in deferred money, while the deal includes a $15MM team option for the 2028 season.
HernĆ”ndez, 32, gets the three-year deal he’d been seeking. The slugger had called returning to the Dodgers a priority after a huge first season with the team. HernĆ”ndez slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 homers across 652 plate appearances. He carried that strong production into the postseason, hitting three longballs with a .250/.352/.417 slash over 16 games to help the Dodgers secure their second championship in five years.
This was the ideal outcome for a player on a pillow contract. HernĆ”ndez had reached free agency last winter on the heels of a middling season in Seattle. He had turned in a .258/.305/.435 slash over 678 plate appearances as a Mariner. As a result, HernĆ”ndez didn’t find the lucrative long-term offer he’d been seeking. While the Red Sox offered him a two-year deal that would’ve come with a $28MM guarantee, he signed for one season on a deferred $23.5MM salary with the goal of reestablishing his market value.
It couldn’t have worked out much better for either side. HernĆ”ndez had one of the best seasons of his career. He earned his second All-Star nod and Silver Slugger award while picking up down ballot MVP votes for the third time. HernĆ”ndez established a new career high in home runs with rate stats that were in line with his best years in Toronto. He was an instrumental part of a championship roster.
The down year in 2023 looks like an anomaly. He’s hardly the only veteran hitter to struggle in Seattle’s extremely pitcher-friendly home park. HernĆ”ndez has been an impact hitter in each of the other four seasons since his breakout in 2020. Over the past five years, he owns a .274/.328/.493 batting line in nearly 2700 trips to the plate. There’ll be a decent number of strikeouts, but few players hit the ball as hard as he does. HernĆ”ndez is an annual threat for 30+ doubles and at least 25-30 homers.
HernĆ”ndez was the only key offensive player whom the Dodgers feared losing in free agency. He’ll return to joinĀ Shohei Ohtani,Ā Mookie Betts,Ā Freddie Freeman,Ā Will Smith,Ā Max Muncy,Ā Tommy Edman andĀ Gavin Lux in a loaded offense. The Dodgers added Michael Conforto on a one-year, $17MM contract at the Winter Meetings. No other team rivals the potency of the L.A. lineup.
The Dodgers are taking on some risk from a defensive perspective. Despite plus arm strength and surprisingly strong athleticism, HernƔndez has never graded as a good defender. That continued this season. Defensive Runs Saved felt he was three runs below par in his 1308 combined innings between the corner outfield spots. Statcast rated him much more harshly, estimating he was 11 runs below average.
HernĆ”ndez isn’t likely to improve on a contract that runs through age 34. An ideal landing spot would’ve allowed him to move to designated hitter in year two or three. That’s not an option on a team with Ohtani. The Dodgers are moving Betts to shortstop and will have HernĆ”ndez and Conforto flanking Edman in the outfield. They’ll accept a mediocre defensive unit for the chance to stack with the lineup with good hitters.
Adding Conforto and re-signing HernĆ”ndez blocks the path to everyday at-bats for youngstersĀ Andy Pages andĀ James Outman. The latter feels like a change of scenery candidate after a disappointing second MLB season. The Dodgers will probably be less inclined to move the 24-year-old Pages, who had a league average .248/.305/.407 showing as a rookie. He still has a minor league option remaining, so they could start him in Triple-A if they don’t want to limit him to fourth outfield work.
Pages doesn’t have anything else to prove in the minors, but the Dodgers have the resources to continue loading up. Other teams figure to at least try to pull him away via trade, though L.A. could prefer to hold him as a replacement for Conforto after next season. SigningĀ Blake Snell and retainingĀ Blake Treinen earlier in the winter leaves the Dodgers without any clear holes on the roster.
At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted HernĆ”ndez would receive a three-year deal at $60MM. He’ll land slightly above that forecast in raw money, though the deferrals will reduce the net present value to some extent. A three-year, $66MM deal without deferrals would come with a $22MM competitive balance tax hit. HernĆ”ndez’s number will end up a bit below that. The specific payout structure, which hasn’t been fully reported, will determine how MLB calculates the contract for tax purposes.
Including HernĆ”ndez, RosterResource calculates the Dodgers’ luxury tax number around $353MM pending the deferral specifics. They’re well beyond the $301MM mark that represents the final tier of penalization. They’re taxed at a 110% rate on the final AAV. Re-signing HernĆ”ndez will likely cost them upwards of $40MM next year after taxes. The Dodgers have been undeterred by the CBT as they push for a repeat.
HernĆ”ndez had declined a qualifying offer. Other teams would have needed to forfeit a draft choice to sign him. The Dodgers only relinquish the right to receive a 2025 compensation pick, which would have come after the fourth round. The Blue Jays and Red Sox had also been linked to HernĆ”ndez this winter. Those clubs (especially Toronto) could turn to Anthony Santander, who stands as the clear top unsigned outfielder.Ā Jurickson Profar is a tier or two below that as the next-best outfield bat.
Yancen Pujols first reported that HernĆ”ndez and the Dodgers were finalizing a three-year, $66MM deal. Chris Cotillo of MassLive confirmed there was an agreement in place. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the $15MM option for 2028, as well as the signing bonus and the approximate $23MM in deferrals.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
Misfit0620
Letās go!!!!! Repeat city
towinagain
And the Padres offseason keeps getting worse.
Hey, Padres ownership, do you want to win?!
Dodgers ownership is lapping you.
And don’t give me “they have all the resources to spend bull!@@$!”
You can make reasonable moves and still, yes, still compete for the division.
You, Padres ownership, haven’t made one move.
niel.marshal
They choose to give the money they can spent to sign Xander for 280M and extend Manny for 350M. Now they idle
believeitornot
They gave up far too much for juan soto. I knew that they would trade him so why didn’t they?
antibelt
How many 300 million dollar players do you think they can afford? Lol Giants are the ones sitting on their hands.
Blue Baron
antibelt: How is extending Chapman and signing Adames sitting on your hands?
BigRedMachine
I feel the same way about my team so the Mariners and Padres should do a deal.
NoSaint
@towinagain
If you think the Padres are having a tough off season, have a look at what shape the Jays are in.
amk1920
Maybe the Padres should have not blown their budget on a second 300 million dollar deal for Manny and paying Xander 100 million more than what he is worth. Oh and Yu Darvish until he is 42 because sure
Longtimecoming
Paying Ohtani $68 mil / year for ages 39-48 – a you think paying Yu $14 mil for 39-41 isbad?
amk1920
Those deferrals arenāt counted towards payroll
energel
yeah but paying ohtani 2 mil/year for his prime, it just world series mode,
Longtimecoming
You do realize itās real money though, right?
energel
oh really?
labial
Is it?
energel
for the dodgers it isnt
Goku the Knowledgable One
I feel like this move may inspire Bob Nutting to sign 2 RPs for league minimum instead of one
energel
2 is better than 1…….. right
frankiegxiii
Ohtani brings in a ship ton of revenue for the Dodgers though.
YourDreamGM
You do realize Ohtani brings $ in. They didn’t just throw it away. Ohtani is excited. And somewhat a big deal in Japan. Xander not a big deal anywhere. No one cares about him. Like Hernandez. Their value is getting deep in playoffs. Ohtani a big deal.
belowme29
Who cares we got Othani in his prime thats all it matters is what he’s doing know. He’s going to get us 3 more titles.
Tigers3232
@Long Ohtani will be collecting money already paid to fund deferalls from age 39-48. That is not the Dodgers paying him for those years. Those years are being paid for annually as $ is deferred as outlined in the CBA.
Tigers3232
For the Dodgers it’s currently $46M annualy they are paying as outlined in CBA. $2M in salary and $44M annually to fund each years deferral.
Deferred $ is nothing new and there is nothing nefarious about it. Every team has ability to do it and most have over the past 4 decades since deferalls started happening.
Mondesiās Cannon
It aināt our money! And who will care when the Dodgers win a total of 4-5 World Seriesās from 2020-2030? Haha.
fox471 Dave
You do realize he is worth that real money though, right?
Longtimecoming
And the circle is complete because, as the original poster started this, Yu is also worth his salary.
His suggestion that Yu wasnāt is what started the comparisons to paying money to older players.
I donāt care how much LA pays Ohtani or when they pay him or how they fund it or how it affects the CBA (or not), or if he is worth it or not worth it.
Black Ace57
It isnāt the same for the Dodgers when they are owned by the Guggenheim investment group. If they owe money to a player 10 years from now deferred their whole business is investment. They can put those dollars into funds and then pay part of what they owe in interest generated from the deferred money. In simple terms, if I owe you $100 bucks in 10 days and I have a special skill that makes the money worth $140 in that time then in a way Iām only paying you $60. Itās BS.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Yeah but can you defer league minimum?
differentbears
Holy moly, itās incredible how often the Ohtani contract has been explained and yet this still persists.
The Dodgers are setting aside 40+ million a year and investing it. When itās time to pay Ohtani his 68 million a year for ten years, the money will already be there to pay him. Theyāre not kicking the can down the road, the money is being set aside now.
920falcon
The Lerners were deferring before deferring was cool.
revolver
Nobody counts 20 except dodger fans.
Tigers3232
@Black Ace The deferred $ and the principal along with interest rate is how it grows.
It’s in no way a special skill. The Dodgers are lending a $44M annually for nearly 10 years, each and every year of his contract. Investment firms drool to have that type of extra capital for a set term especially 10 years.
Not sure what stipulations are but just and SP 500 index fund would easily see this money double in 7 tears off its historic return. And if allowed some banks would possibly just pay a 6 or 7% rate ro have the extra capital to lend out as credit. Consumers regularly pay 20% or more on credit cards. So investment firm would b tripling their $ by the time the accrued deferrals are due. MLB rules likely stipulate something similar to the former, but just giving u some examples of how it’s in no way some “special skill”.
Tigers3232
@Wade I’m not sure, that’s a good question. It would still be counted against luxury tax in present day value as current league minimum. Just unlikely to see someone being paid league minimum able to afford to defer the $. Unless of course they re an aging vet just hanging on for one of final years.
Baseballisthebest
Different the Dodgers are not investing the $44 million. They are required to put it in an escrow account with a guaranteed interest rate.
Baseballisthebest
Tigers, it can’t be invested in anything with a variable return. It has to be a guaranteed interest rate. It also is put in an escrow account.
Tigers3232
@Baseball When you put $ into an account and it accrues interest, it is called investing.
energel
i dont think anyone should count 2020-marlins made the postseason
Psychguy
Ohtani is an international investment. He will pay for himself. Outside the box thinking by perhaps the smartest ownership team in baseball. It was right there for the taking for Arte, but he has no vision.
Longtimecoming
Psych – most reports state that the entire contract idea was all Ohtani and he pitched it to LA.
Just saying, ownership only gets credit for saying, āokā.
Psychguy
It has to be a dynamic between 2 parties. Halos did not take advantage of this phenomenal player when they had the chance. LA not only has money, but they are smart and execute well.
belowme29
They can still get a good loan with a better interest rate.
ryrockak
Be mad at Preller for giving Xander that outrageous horrible contract. That being said I still think he is a good GM
Longtimecoming
Iād say Peter was behind that contract but that doesnāt mean AJ wouldnāt have done it too.
roob
That takes out the best trade partner for Kuis Robert. I guess heāll get moved at the trade deadline.
energel
Kuis.
YourDreamGM
Padres are broke. Stimulus $ has ran out and credit cards are maxed out.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Padres had better hope for Roki, because Dodgers have improved over 2024 roster.
VermonsterSD
You realize that all the Dodgers have done this off season is trade Bueller for Snell, right? No other moves, no new players, etc. Stop freaking out…….lol
HHBruin
Buehler and Flaherty
Longtimecoming
Buehler and Flaherty you could say.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Vermon
Snell, Edman and Conforto, and Treinan coming back, if youāre counting
energel
VermonsterSD
dont forget the biggest signings the dodgers have made: Conforto and Gallegos
energel
conforto not coming back, he was never on the team, VermonsterSD was talking about new players
arty! Believes Jevon Belcher Quit on the Chiefs
Run it back isnāt the worst idea for a 93 win team.
They need to sign an actual 1B for trade for one and could use a LF but bringing back Solano to play 1B and Peralta to play LF also isnāt the worst outcome.
Baseballisthebest
You are a serious wimp Tow. Have you thought of getting professional help?
norcalblue
Donāt despair T, if Pads sign Roki and unload Cease in a deal for Suzuki, this will be a very successful offseason.
Paleobros
Hey now! They signed Jose Espada to a minor league deal.
VegasSDfan
The Padres made smart moves late in the offseason last year. I expect the same this year.
Tbe dodgers can spend like fools all they want. A team full of veterans tends to under perform.
DigglinDickers
A team full of veterans just won a championship.
ThatsIT?
Youāre why the padres should have never made those stupid moves. Fans like you donāt have the intelligence to understand that it was a short term strategy that was only taking place because of a dying owner it was dumb then, and shouldnāt have been done because it confusing simpletons like you. Losing money for fans like you to stupidity criticize them now. Hopefully they operate like the Aās going forward and give you something real to complain about.
energel
dont have to be mean
The_M4N
@towin, the Friars are making moves now.
ocladfan
What are they going to do when mannyās salary goes up to $39 mil a yr in two years? Maybe the owners open up their purse?
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Letās go!!!! Good teams get better and bad teams get worse!!!
Psychguy
It’s not just about the money. LA has a smart management team and great farm system.
Braves Butt-Head
Great management great farm system and of course good old Satan helping out where he can the Dodgers can’t miss lol
WadeBoggsWildRide
We found the Q follower in the baseball comment section.
Jake1972
I’m a Cubs fan.
Love,
Satan
Psychguy
You make Beavis and Butt – head look like geniuses. Job well done.
braveshomer
What is Q exactly?…any who good signing by the Dodgers!
fox471 Dave
Aptly named, butt head.
The_M4N
@Misfit, “[hopefully] repeat city.” They’ve never done it.
Misfit0620
Weāve got a better chance now with him being back.
The_M4N
Misfit, LAD is definitely the team to beat.
energel
misfit – why you saying “we” are you on the dodgers?
cardinalred
This is always the dumbest comment in any thread. If misfit bought a ticket, or some merch that found it’s way back to ownership and helped put the product on the field, then why can’t they say “we”? Just don’t get haters hating a fan. Hating the Dodgers in general…yeah, I get that.
Van Lingle Mungo
It is something every fan of a team says because the team represents a city. In this case, Los Angeles. So, while the fans may not be on the team, they are a part of something in the greater scheme of sports. Who is the last acknowledgment by players whenever they get a chance to speak? The fans. “If it weren’t for the fans, we wouldn’t be here.” So, we, the fans, say “We” regarding the team because it is OUR team, and we have an emotional stake. It is ours. Don’t fool yourself; you’ve said “we” when discussing how the Pirates guzzle every last drop from every other baseball team while failing every year. “We just can’t seem to not be on our knees by seasons’ end.”
energel
Ig thats mb – sorry misfit. I realize I have probably said that about the pirates. But usually me personally I dont say we, even though I am a diehard pittsburgh fan.
Misfit0620
Donāt be that guy especially with a trademarked Pirates pic as your PFP.
YourDreamGM
I forgot how using “we” triggers people. Need to get back to using it. And I can actually use it legitimately. I am obviously smarter than anyone working in these front offices so they would be foolish not to take my advice. Just won’t say we signed Xander. I don’t want any credit for that disaster.
fox471 Dave
Energel, you may have missed it but all fans say āwe.ā
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Cardinal
I think youāre right about Misfit. It can refer to āWe Dodger fansā. Not how I talk, but just not a big deal as colloquialisms go.
fox471 Dave
Well said Van.
Fever Pitch Guy
Mis – Not a surprise to most of us, we’ve been saying all along he’s staying.
Both he and the Red Sox used each other, so all good ;p)
Sad.Sox 3
I’m shocked! All reports (leaked directly from Boston’s front office) were that the Red Sox were in hot pursuit
Fever Pitch Guy
Sad – Second year in a row too, they use the same playbook every year since 2019!
Who’s the next top guy the Red Sox will not sign … Bregman, Scott, Burnes or Santander?
kodion
FPG – You got a lot of nerve, implying the Sox are better at not-signing than the Jays!
Sad.Sox 3
Kodion – I think they’re equally bad at not signing players, these are just better at lying about which players they’re not signing lol
deweybelongsinthehall
There’s a difference. Boston at one time was THE place to go. Like the end of a commercial…NOT ANY MORE.
larkraxm
It hasn’t happened for 25 years. I’ll take the field!
smill
Next?
Edub23
3 yrs for $66M seems like a solid deal for both sides in this market.
Gives the Dodgers another big RH bat with Mookie and Will Smith to go along with the big LH bats with Shohei, Freeman and Muncy.
I’m not sure what the defensive metrics showed in Teoscar, but it looked like he played well in LF, especially in the playoffs.
i like al conin
The system is broken. Dodgers have 3.5 times the payroll as several small market teams.
Van Lingle Mungo
He was available to any other team. It’s nearly January. He signed at a very reasonable price for a team he obviously wanted to play for.
i like al conin
I agree on that, but Iām talking about the wide gap between resources of large and mid/small markets. How can the Rays and others compete with a $107 mil payroll when the Dodgers have no limit? They canāt.
Van Lingle Mungo
If Steinberg can’t make money in Tampa, they could in Nashville, Charlotte, or perhaps Montreal. He could also spend money.
davep-3
Baseball is overdue for salary cap floor. I donāt blame Dodgers. However mlb ratings will continue to hemorrhage viewers if it is Dodgers every year with limited competition. MLB turning into Harlem globetrotters .
fox471 Dave
Perhaps, the billionaire owners of smaller markets should spend some MONEY!
17dizzy
The Dodgers need to add Nolan Arenado!!!
He wants to play for the Dodgers if the Cardinals are going to dump him.
Heās a year younger than Muncy. Has a lot higher career batting average than Muncy. Plus, Arenado Averaged between 25-30+ homers a year ā with his 16 from last season being a career low.
Arenadoās 10 Gold Gloves along with a Platinum makes Arenado the much better defensive player.
The Dodgers need to take advantage of the Cardinals John Mozeliak and the owners DeWittās stupidity.
John Mozeliak is giving away their best Quality players. Just to dump their best Quality Players and their higher salaries.
The Cardinals will trade Arenado to the Dodgers for peanuts ā¦. Plus give them $20-$25 million of his contract just so they will take him.
That seems like a No-Brainer. Adding Arenado strengthens them both offensively and defensively!! Muncy moves to the back-up 3rd & 1st Baseman along with filling in for Othani on days heās out at DH. Plus ā- Muncy could also fill in as a corner outfielder ā if needed.
YourDreamGM
Arenado can they rework his contract to defer it? If so I love it.
cecildawg
17dizzy? Arenado is toast. No one really wants him or needs him. Nice enough fellow. Just done.
energel
Why do you only mentoin career stats? everything the past few years have been a decline, and muncy really has not declined, other than injuries
ck420
This team is a monster. I’ve been a Mariners Fan since my first game at the Kingdome in 1987. My team for the most part sucks. We were good in the late 90’s and early 2000’s but it’s been a grueling journey from there. Yes we made the playoffs in 2022, but it’s been miserable overall. Missing the playoffs by one game over and over again, and the ownerships lack of spending has made me decide to quit on the Mariners. I am now a DODGERS FAN since Mariners ownership decide to sit on their hands. GOODBYE SEATTLE! Selling my house and moving out of Washington state is gonna be a really sad moment. Love this state but politics and this has made me decide to move out of Washington and switch teams. It’s a sad day folks pray for me!
fox471 Dave
Prayers sent .
920falcon
Ditto.
good vibes only
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya
energel
I live in seattle too, agree with everything you said except becoming a dodgers fan
ef1txx
only 63M deferred
Misfit0620
And the lame jokes start
This one belongs to the Reds
Own your team’s shenanigans or deal with it.
HHBruin
what shenanigans?
cwsOverhaul
@Reds: Not to worry. Santander/Boras will exceed Cincy salary comfort zone and they can trade with WSox for Luis Robert.
stubby66
This is the leagues fault they gotta put a rule in where only a percent of money can be deferred of a players money and a percent of your yearly team salary be deferred. No im not a jealous fan but a person that doesn’t want this to eventually hurt the game. I will even go further that it is time to make a rule that teams also need to start paying for a percent of upgrades or new stadiums. People got a right to complain about how much these owners make. The salaries have gotten high enough. I get the owners are making plenty but so are the players.. it’s time that the excess money should be given back to the fan and that is for them to pay for these stadiums that these organization play in.
choof
what shenanigans? the perfectly fair rules your cheap owner can’t/won’t play with?
TheGr8One
Whine whine whine the players can strike and so can the fans. Iāve been in management on multiple levels for 30 years and what Iāve learned is if you want to make your point you hit them in the wallet. No different to baseball. The revenues are paid by you. Donāt come here complaining about the product and then support the product thatās insane.
Sad.Sox 3
Stubby- get ready for a long work stoppage before they sign the next CBA because they salary issues are going to expose rifts between owners, and then again between MlB and the PA
Tigers3232
@Stubby The league does have rules on deferrals and how they are funded. Ohtani’s deferrals will require $44M annually to accrue to the $68M collection value. That $44M must be funded annually as outlined in CBA.
So the total against luxury tax the Dodgers are being charged($46M). Is the true # of the present value of his contract the $44M + $2M collected annualy now.
There is nothing nefarious and it’s not this advantage some people seem to think.
Rays in the Bay
@Reds
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Yeah it’s within the rules but it counts as salary shenanigans. If Dodgers fans continue to get mad about it we will continue to joke about it
Oldhalo
@ TheGr8One. I agree. A select few teams have gobbled up the majority of the talent. Whether you can afford it or not as an owner is irrelevant, it’s bad for the sport and it isn’t being managed, jeopardizing the integrity of the overall product. So why attend the games at the other 20 or so ball parks… Let it collapse, then sit back and see what happens.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Stubby
But in this case the signing bonus is as big as the deferred money. This just is not similar to the Ohtani deal.
cencal
Ive been a Dodgers fan since I wee sperm on the swim up the canal and I agree with you.
Something tied to a percentage of the deal.
No deferral periods outside 2x the contract length of deals less than 5 years, and 1..5 for more than 5
Something like this. I should “hurt” sooner than later.
Saying all that, glad the LA offense is essentially back with a better starting staff.
This one belongs to the Reds
@cws No, it will be more excuses why nothing got done and they go into next year with the same lame outfield group.
JSC Cubbs
Then why do it that way? If it’s not giving you an advantage you wouldn’t reinvent the pay structure for your team.
Subverting the CBT payments is nefarious. Subverting the CBT is an advantage.
Subverting the CBT takes money from other teams.
DroppedThirdStrike
It does none of those things. The actual value of the contract is lower than the stated value due to when it is being paid out. The player gets paid more than the actual value for allowing the team to pay them later.
pepenas34
If we are going to talk about CBT manipulation with the deferrals, the length of contracts when teams offer players 12-15 years just to lower the annual average. Its the same thing with the difference in deferrals players don’t use a 40 m roster spot.
fox471 Dave
Wasting your time, tigers. Along with many others, I have explained deferrals more than once.
920falcon
And you did it well.
ThatsIT?
Nobody wants to play in Cincinnati. That wonāt change with a salary cap simpleton.
octavian8
Disagree that no one wants to play in Cincy. Home town players like Pete Rose, Dave Parker, Barry Larkin, etc. Some people like a slightly slower lifestyle and if you want to experience something bigger you always take a short flight to that city. Taxes are much cheaper also. So diss Cincy, Pittsburgh or Minnesota all you want but realize some of us choose to live there.
youngliam
Deferred money needs to count against the luxury cap while the player is on the team, this is just ridiculous at this point.
Orioles Legend Andy Van Slyke
“Iāve learned is if you want to make your point you hit them in the wallet. No different to baseball. The revenues are paid by you. Donāt come here complaining about the product and then support the product thatās insane.”
The Expos fans who stopped attending after the ’97 season made their point so clear that they no longer have a team.
NYG4246
I 1000% agree teams should pay for their stadiums it’s terrible how they essentially put their respective cities in hand coughs for tax dollars.
Idk about the deferrals though, it’s not that new it just became an issue bc LA really gave ohtani a landmark deferral contract. If that’s what they want to do Im ok with it. If I’m ohtani though I’d be watching my back in retirement – billion dollar corporations have the means to make people go away so they won’t have to pay up.
Begamin
23MM of it is deferred btw
mlbdodgerfan2015
And $23mm signing bonus.
bucsfan0004
If $23M is upfront in the form of a signing bonus, and $23M is deferred, that leaves about $7M/year in actual yearly salary for the state of CA to tax.
Rking
Turns out a lot is deferred though. Great deal for Dodgers.
fox471 Dave
And for Teoscar. Neither he nor any member of his family will ever go hungry.
The_M4N
@Misfit, but it’s it really a lame joke?
DugoutJester
But was he wrong? 23m signing bonus, 23m deferred. Damn near close. *shrugs*
roob
Who cares whatās deferred? This is ridiculous. Every team has the same rules.
fox471 Dave
Did I stumble into the challenged section of MLBTR? Every team can do the same thing. Good lord!
yanksfan2010
23 million has been deferred. So, his joke was not far off.
CALgoldenBears
$23.5 million in deferred money.
Psychguy
You must have low expectations if you want to participate in social media.
WadeBoggsWildRide
You should lower your expectations if you want to participate in life now.
energel
and the lame “comebacks” start
WadeBoggsWildRide
Not far off. $23 bonus and $23 deferred. That only leaves $20 over 3 years. Interesting.
marcfrombrooklyn
I wonder if all these large (relative to the annual salaries) signing bonuses are a hedge by the players against a work stoppage when the CBA expires.
Sad.Sox 3
I think the answer is both yes and no. It’ll be nice to have a pile of cash under your mattress during the next lockout. But also it’s a guaranteed paycheck long long after retirement.
Remember the Mets are still paying Bobby Bonilla every year
Tigers3232
@Wade Plus the $ to fund the deferred portions each of those years.
Salzilla
I get such a kick outta how the Dodgers deferrels get under so many people’s skin.
receo
The meltdowns are glorious!
Phyguy0880
A practice in schadenfreude isn’t exactly an endorsement of your own character.
YourDreamGM
Deferred $ is awesome. Why would you want a higher luxury tax number? They got the city and tv deal. Might as well take advantage of the payroll advantage. If you smaller city fans get upset and stop watching they might change things. But no one cares if you are unhappy as long as they keep getting your $.
Rays in the Bay
We normal people have already given up. It’s only rich white people from past generations who can attend games… Or companies who give free tickets to workers. I don’t give MLB any of my money and don’t really watch. But the league doesn’t care as long as the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox exist. They will always bring in lots of money and revenue. The other teams are just fodder to showcase the talent on the richer teams.
fox471 Dave
āRich white people?ā
Fred McGriff HR
@ Rays in the Bay
“Itās only rich white people from past generations who can attend gamesā¦ ” “I donāt give MLB any of my money and donāt really watch.”
——————————
How do you know who is in attendance if you don’t really watch, and what makes you ‘think’ “it’s only rich white people”..
I can see though that you’ve been well indoctrinated.
Hammerin' Hank
The other teams have been fodder to showcase the rich team’s talent for as long as they’ve been playing baseball. Take a look at the yearly American League standings during the Yankees’ dynasty from 1921 to 1964. Teams like the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns were cannon fodder for the Yanks. And the other five teams also experienced long stretches of ineptitude, including the Boston Red Sox. During the 1950’s the Kansas City A’s were pretty much a Yankees farm team, funneling all their good players to New York. Why do you all act like this is a new problem, when it’s simply history repeating itself?
Lanidrac
Man, even the Dodgers are going to need to significantly cut payroll for current players once they have to start paying off all this deferred salary.
Although, the Dodgers cutting payroll means they’ll probably still be spending within the top 3rd of MLB teams on current rosters.
VegasMoved
The Dodgers are already paying those deferred salaries into escrow. They have no financial obligation once the deals expire.
bucsfan0004
Yes. For Ohtani the Dodgers set aside $46M, they pay him $2M, and put the other $44M in a T-bill or something paying 4.5% apr. After 10yrs, the $44M deferred is now $68M, and he gets paid the rest. The Dodgers don’t suddenly have a $68M yearly bill due starting 10yrs from now. Its all paid and over with and on to the next superstar
VegasMoved
Only off by 40 million.
dodgerblue58
Finally
Thank you
YourDreamGM
They deferred signing him until after Christmas but got it done.
thenorthstarofnija
About time!
bjhaas1977
Seems like a low salary.
YourDreamGM
It’s fair. At his age and talent would you want to lose a draft pick? Can’t go all in.
fox471 Dave
Bjhaas – Yeah, how does one live on $7,000,000 a year, with $23,000,000 in the bank and another $23,000,000 coming in the future. Should we start a Go Fund me charity?
wmurphy24
Takinā care of business over there
Canuckleball
Now the bidding intensifies for Santander.
YourDreamGM
Nah. Same boat at Hernandez. Lil younger but not a good enough player or big enough star to want to pay max value and lose a draft pick. They will bid but not intensely.
Even worse because LA has the $ and wouldn’t have received a high draft pick. Baltimore like with Burnes would very much like to not spend $ and receive their draft pick.
92jays
Way to go bluejays
bestone
Yeahā¦I think Iām done. Iāve gotta find a new team to follow
WadeBoggsWildRide
Just don’t try the Reds.
friesTO
Followed Dodger Blue and was rewarded with a WS, so can recommend. When Biggio got traded over I followed watching and listening to the team since Teo was there already so I knew a couple on the team. Highs and lows with Biggio then he was out and Kiermeier was in.
Dodgers went through so many players though it was a wonder they kept up in their division. They had a leash but it was short.
Anyway good to have a few teams to follow doesn’t have to be this one. I’ll also be adding the Pirates to see how IKF and Horwitz are doing. Cheers
Canuck2
Atkins will come up empty handed then hopefully lose his job
bestone
He seems to have no ability to attract any free agents. His trades are terribleā¦and cant seem to retain any players (or extend them).
The farm teams suck. And his draft selections never pan out.
What does he do?
Maybe he has some compromising photos of his boss or somethingā¦.
friesTO
it’s been 9 years, why would it matter now? Shapiro and Atkins are tied together they come as a set to destroy franchises. They do great for stadiums but not for teams
Terry B
Running it back! Tanner Scott next!
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
God please no theyāve spent enough money
YourDreamGM
I hope they get em all
JackStrawb
Making Steve Cohen look a mite cheap.
g0blue
Hear, hear!!
This one belongs to the Reds
To the shock of NO ONE.
Tokyo
Looks like we got the band back together.
differentbears
Except for Number 21, Buetane. *sniffle*
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Rays
I paid only $99 for MLB.com to watch non-local games for almost a full season. That does not require legacy wealth or privilege.
JackStrawb
Probably not what a collection of antiques like the Dodgers should be doing if they want to add to the big trophy collection.
BurnerK
Good for him! Finally and well deserved.
ā¤ļø MuteButton
This team is stacked!
and handing out STACK$
twozero6ix
No one wants to be overpaid in Toronto, Boston or SF.. mine as well run it back
Joemo
Boston ownership did this to themselves. I have no sympathy for that cheap ownership group.
ClevelandSteelEngines
They did it to you, they knew this whole time it was another bluff.
all in the suit that you wear
Some teams refuse to overpay. Overpaying can come back to haunt you.
GASoxFan
And some teams often refuse to just plain pay, because, ‘baseball players are expensive’ and ‘you can’t expect to compete for a world series every year.’
So, its so much easier to pocket the cash and not spend it for years on end. At least then you can fund non-baseball related ventures with it right? Just drop some misleading soundbites around ticket renewal deadlines and run with it!
all in the suit that you wear
GA: Good to see you. You have been missing for a while.
GASoxFan
Yessir suit. Been a rough few months.
Still following the moves, and, can’t say I agree with the direction things have taken with the crochet trade, but, *if* he stays healthy, *if* he’s the real deal, and, *if* they get an extension done it may turn out alright.
Most of my energy has been spent just hanging on around here, but, decided to take a little time tonight on the boards to decompress and do something i always enjoyed.
Hope you’ve had a great holiday season so far
WadeBoggsWildRide
Hope things turn around for you if they haven’t already.
all in the suit that you wear
Good to see you hanging in there and hope you are enjoying the holidays. I’m not crazy about the Crochet trade, but we will see how it goes. I think it could turn out to be anywhere from a great trade to a disaster.
GASoxFan
Suit: what’s your take these days on Breslow’s negotiating ability?
Looking at the body of work over the last 12 months I’m starting to feel like he tends to give in or give up a bit much for what he gets over most of his transactions?
all in the suit that you wear
I can’t tell about Breslow’s negotiating for sure because the price for pitching has gone through the roof.
JackStrawb
If he couldn’t anticipate or at least see it happening in front of him, he’s not much of a GM.
all in the suit that you wear
What are you talking about, Jack? Breslow has paid the higher prices for pitching in the trade for Crochet and in the signings of Buehler and Sandoval. I am saying that I do not have a feel for fair prices in the new pitching market.
GASoxFan
I’m actually perfectly fine with the strategy with Buehler and Sandoval. I don’t mind paying an excess AAV on extremely short deals when it’s purely cash involved and no QO penalties.
It’s the decisions when you’re talking the cost for grissom, or the cost for crochet, or take your pick from last deadline like the Garcia trade, etc etc that concern me. It just feels like he gives in to another team’s ask a little too willingly perhaps
all in the suit that you wear
GA: Agreed. I am really only concerned about the Crochet trade so far. I think the main point of the Sale trade was to dump salary. I think they arrived at Grissom being part of the return after they settled on how much money the Red Sox would eat.
all in the suit that you wear
GA: To explain further about the Crochet trade, I am not worried about losing Meidroth or Gonzalez, but I am not sure if one or two top five prospects need to be traded (Teel and Montgomery).
GASoxFan
Suit: the piece of the crochet trade that sticks in my craw is Teel.
There is not an alternate chip C prospect in the system coming up, and, FA doesn’t have anything particularly young and attainable on the horizon. You had a switch hitting impact bat at a premium position with a shortage of quality around the league, and, chi already had a C prospect in the wings anyways…. I’d have rather given up Mayer than Teel even, just from a replacability standpoint. I really think montgomery, meidroth, Gonzalez, and another prospect outside the top 5 should’ve gotten it done regardless. Teel should’ve been untouchable.
all in the suit that you wear
Teel looks like a good hitter. He is small for a catcher at 190 lbs. I wonder if they have doubts about him sticking as an every day catcher. I went to see the Sea Dogs last year and I saw someone in catcher’s gear warming up the pitcher in the outfield. I couldn’t see the name or number on the back of his jersey. I was wondering where the catcher was and why they had a little guy warming up the pitcher. It looked like smaller middle infielder and looked odd. Turns out it was Teel warming up the pitcher.
GASoxFan
Varitek was 6’2″ 200#…
Teel at his younger age is 6’1″ 190#…
Personally, don’t think the size will be an issue.
all in the suit that you wear
Baseball Reference has Varitek at 230 lbs. I posted these in the Crochet trade article when I first speculated that Teel might be viewed as small for a catcher:
Teel is 6ā0ā³ and 190 lbs. Christian Vazquez is 5ā9ā³ and 205 lbs. Adley Rutschman is 6ā2ā³ and 230 lbs. Jose Trevino is 5ā10ā and 215 lbs. Buster Posey was 6ā1ā³ and 213 lbs. Pudge Rodriguez was 5ā9ā³ and 205 lbs. Jason Varitek was 6ā2ā³ and 230 lbs. Carlton Fisk was 6ā3ā³ and 200 lbs.
JackStrawb
Pffft. If you’re not willing to overpay for a FA, you’ll always come in fourth on the bidding.
all in the suit that you wear
No kidding, Jack. If you don’t overpay when others are overpaying, you won’t win the bidding. Your comment has nothing to do with my comment which was overpaying can come back to haunt you.
jaysmooth2121
This team is loaded !
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
The Los Angeles deferrals strike again with the 23 million
g0blue
but also 23m bonus! Any team who believes in their product going forward can do the same!
showmebb
Thought the Dodgers were going to move on?Iām sure Iāve read that here.
Wren
all part of the game and this is a rumor site but if you don’t think they had back up plans to back up plans you don’t follow the team.
YourDreamGM
They would have if need be. But the new what his market was. They have a lil experience in signing free agents. They knew he would come crawling back.
Goetta
Plain and simple, baseball is lawless and out of control. Big markets buy championships while 90% of the league operates as a farm system for the factory. Itās a tarnished game because of money. Playing field is not equal.
Gmen777
Players union will never let a salary cap be implemented even with a salary floor unfortunately
deweybelongsinthehall
Gmen: agree but because owners will not truly open their books.
phenomenalajs
I could see them agreeing to a $400M cap and a $100M floor while leaving the penalty tiers in place. It’s the smaller market teams that may balk at the floor.
cecildawg
I vote for you.
cecildawg
I’d vote for you.
cecildawg
I vote for you. (3rd time(?)
fox471 Dave
Democrat?
JackStrawb
There’s yet to be a study showing salary floors accomplish anything at all except raise salaries a bit.
Were the A’s going to go anywhere in the last three seasons if they’d had to add a $20m AAV 3-win corner OFer?
WadeBoggsWildRide
fox471-Hahahaha! He did vote 3 times. Was he also seen around any old folks homes?
YourDreamGM
Yep if you can get a top 5 gm and top 5 player development you can make playoffs somewhat regularly, anything can happen in a 3 5 game series and maybe even a 7 game series.
Royals are only small market to win it all and small markets are still spending the same as they did in 2015 while everyone else is spending 200m even 230 250 300 but it’s still theoretically possible.
Rays in the Bay
A cap and floor are desperately needed, but the damage is done. Aside from that, the owners won’t allow a floor and the players won’t allow a cap. An impasse of two big groups with oversized egos and no compromise.
Begamin
we had the royals, cubs, rangers, astros, nationals, cardinals, giants win the WS within the last 10-15 years or so. what are we complaining about? something needs to be done about deferrals but something also needs to be done about billionaires refusing to invest in their team. wompwomp
TheGr8One
Nothing needs to be done about deferrals the dodgers are mortgaging the future for the now. There will be a time they are paying close to 100 million a year for players they donāt have anymore. And theyāre right to do it cause what they bank with the two more rings they win at minimum will pay for those years. Theyāre choice. Nothing need change.
Simm
Thegr8one- you do realize that they have to put the deferred money into an account? They put it into an account that gains interest. So by the time they pay the deferred money itās already been paid and made more money.
They are dodging luxury tax and gaining interest on the deferred money at the same time. There is no finding the money at the end.
bluesteele
They arenāt mortgaging the future! Deferral are about investments today that pay for a future contract. Money in hand, makes money. $500M making 10% a year in the market today pays for itself. Thatās the genius behind it. It has nothing to do with leveraging the future.
Diggydugler
You dont understand deferrals. They are not mortgaging the future, the money is paid upfront each year into escrow, there is zero downside to the team to defer. The issue is most teams cant get players to defer because most teams cant get the players period.
TheGr8One
You say i donāt understand deferrals thatās silly you donāt understand the luxury tax. Doesnāt matter if it āmakesā them money itās still 100 million dollar tax hit for zero players. By then 40 million dollar contracts will be the norm and they still need to field a team. That will put them behind the field.
TheGr8One
You donāt understand the luxury tax. 100 million dollars for zero players itās still a tax hit. Start your team from scratch while 100 million behind everyone else they are absolutely mortgaging the future.
Sad.Sox 3
Yes, you’re right, mortgaging some of the future, for one glorious 10yr run.
DroppedThirdStrike
They pay for it now. At today’s value. And because they pay for it now there is no tax consideration. It’s literally a zero-sum game. Future definitely not being mortgaged
TheGr8One
Itās not a zero sum game youāre talking only in cash. Luxury tax for these contracts are still on the books. These people will be retired and count against the tax. How is that not behind the 8 ball?
Simm
Great- thatās not true. They are taking the tax hit today but at a reduced rate because of future value. They wonāt be paying a tax on Ohtani in 10 years.
TheGr8One
Yea exactly thatās what they are doing. It will be a glorious run and it will die and then it will hurt. Itās their call to do this others are choosing not to.
DroppedThirdStrike
Luxury tax is paid for at the time due to actual value of the contracts when they are signed. When the playing careers of these players is finished the taxes are 100% paid.
The money is set aside now, the taxes are paid as they come due as calculated by MLB and MLBPA. There is nothing hanging over the team when the contracts are completed.
Simm
No not at all. You act like on 10 years from now they have to start finding the money to pay Ohtani.
10 years from now Ohtani will have zero lux tax hits and the money he is owed has already been set aside on an interest baring account. So by the time the dodgers pay it, it cost even less.
There is no mortgaging the future happening. The money is already be paid deposited today.
Simm
Dropped- exactly
JerseyShoreScore
Fortunately, the Dodgers are generating enough revenue to offset any future obligations. Ohtani revenue alone is going to hit over a billion PRIOR to paying any deferments..
Tigers3232
@TheGr8One MLB has rules on how These deferalls are funded. The $ needed to accrue to the value at collection has to be funded annually as the deferalls are taking place. So These deferalls are being funded now. The players collect later. Teams are not just putting kicking the can down the road on paying these.
pepenas34
Dodgers are being lux tax today and for the first 10 years 46MM, there won’t be lux tax for the years 11-20.
The opposite would be, Why if Ohtani is been paid 2MM is been taxed 46MM?
fox471 Dave
Not to mention what Ohtani generates for the organization. Dodgers will be fine.
Tigers3232
@TheGr8 They do not count against luxury tax when collecting deferred money. The principal needed to fund deferral is counted each year along with signing bonus divided amongst playing years of the contract.
A good example would be Snell’s CBA hit last year which can b found on FanGraphs. The amount paid the cost to fund the little bit of deferral and entire signing bonus all fell on last season. He opted out of 2nd year so the one season became lone year of his contract.
Goetta
Rangers, Astros, Cubs, Nationals and Giants are not small market teams so point not valid. Just look at their payrolls compared to the rest of the league when they won. Show me where the Brewers, Reds, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Oakland, Minnesotaā¦. And so on and so on have won anything. They havenāt. Blame ownership, fine. But the way the rules are skewed for big markets to continually reach the playoffs is obvious.
barrelup
Fair amount of different teams have won championships in the past 25 years. Higher than the capped leagues even with the (still) most exclusive playoff system.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Cry us a river commies.
Johnny Devil
The starters are hardly scary and the defense is brutal. Repeat bwaaaa bwaaaa bwaaaa bwaaaa bwaaaa bwaaaa
taran7
Hmmm somehow they won the Series with that defense and those starters
belowme29
Go cry to your teams owner. Every owner in baseball has money and they don’t want to spend.
differentbears
MLB has had more ādifferentā teams win the title than the NBA or NFL since 2001. I think itās 16 different teams, out of 30 total.
WadeBoggsWildRide
differentbears- Commies don’t understand actual outcomes or facts. It just feels unfair when their teams lose so it has to mean the system is unfair. Baseball has more parity than any other sport. In the NBA and NFL is is not uncommon for a team to win or lose 80% of their games. That is lopsided as hell. In baseball a team that wins 60% is very good.
unpaidobserver
Have to think however that the luxury tax tiers have actually prevented teams from spending all their money on terrible players.
I hate the inequity in the game but contracts more often go sour than work out and them not working out gets worse the bigger the contract.
Candlestoked
May the entire organization and its fans spend an eternity writhing in a flaming, decaying pit of fecal horror!
Niekro floater
Just a game, dude.
YourDreamGM
We are willing to sign up for that. Just as long as the fecal horror is deferred!
Bivouac-Sal
You already are Stoked. You already are.
energel
I wouldnt go that far, but it really is annoying
Bivouac-Sal
Be happy energel. Dodgers won’t get their hands on Skenes for another 5 years yet.
energel
why do people not think Pirates wont extend him… Pirates are big on extensions
Bivouac-Sal
relax dude. just joshing. Skenes is terrific. enjoy him.
(but he does come from Fullerton CA) wink wink.
energel
also not trying to be rude or mad, sorry if it came off that way, just very passionate for the buccos and skenes.
and oh yeah I’ll enjoy him
stymeedone
Does he have Boras as his agent?
Bivouac-Sal
Not Boras. Rafa Nieves is Teo’s agent.
Rays in the Bay
@energel
We’ll see. Pirates are like the Rays. Extend him, give him no supporting cast, fail to meet expectations, and then traded (or let walk in FA). Unfortunately it’s the fate for all small market teams
WadeBoggsWildRide
They can’t afford that extension.
rmullig2
I think Livvy would rather be in LA than Pittsburgh.
belowme29
May God cure your mind and soul. Sad to see people talk this way if it’s only a game for human kind to be entertained. God bless you
JackStrawb
May God cure your blathering ego?
Cheers,
cecildawg
A giants fan, lol. At least you had Willie,
JackStrawb
And Juan. And Willie. Orlando, Felipe, Matty, Jesus…
cecildawg
Yikes. Kinda side ways yout.
Rays in the Bay
Hahaha!!
Big whiffa
Thatās light contract ! Less than 15 mil per over 3 years with some deferred money. Howās there not a dozen teams in in this guy for that cost ?? Yet he gets no buzz
Seems like LA and NYC are only two cities that can afford MLB free agents. Smh
wvsteve
He wanted to be a Dodger. Plain and simple.
PierceIn
“He wanted to be a Dodger. Plain and simple.”
Exactly right. All the whining about deferrals/’buying rings’/etc. overlooks the dirty little secret that’s right out in the open:
Players want to play there.
In fact, some of them want to play there (or remain there) so much the Dodgers actually get a price break.
TigersLoveCinnamon
Where are you getting 15 million per? 3/66 is 22, even if you include the fourth year at 15 is still 4/81 which is still 20.25
Big whiffa
23 mil deferred. So 3/43 is all he got over life of contract with 23 up front. So less than 7 mil per if u take out signing bonus
Bivouac-Sal
the signing bonus is amortized over the length of the contract
YourDreamGM
Other teams didn’t want to give up draft pick for a good not great not young player.
TigersLoveCinnamon
@dream He wasn’t issued a QO
YourDreamGM
@TigersLoveCinnamon the fake news strikes again then. Or Mandela effect. In my timeline it was reported he got a QO
WadeBoggsWildRide
Your timeline jives with mine Dream
TigersLoveCinnamon
Okay I’m dumb, you got me
YourDreamGM
@TigersLoveCinnamon Impressive honesty. Well done. I would have played I’m from a different multiverse card.
bluesteele
Nope. Go look at owner profits last year. LA and NY are the only ones spending what they make. If you want to shake your head, go see what Boston pocketed instead of investing on players!! Even the smallest markets arenāt hurting.
wvsteve
Where do you see what each team profited?
Simm
In his dreams
bluesteele
Does no one know facts on here?? Last year MLB teams made an average of 378M in revenue. The Boston Red Sox made 500M in 2023 and spent less than 200M in 2024. You want to blame LA for spending their money or Boston for pocketing it???
bluesteele
Research is hard for ya huh @Simm? Lol. I love uneducated people who post.
PutPeteinthehall
Would you believe they have expenses other than player payroll?
bluesteele
Yeah, I think we all understand the definition of profit! Would you like me to do all the research for you? Do a simple google search on owner profits and payroll boys. I use the Red Sox because itās an obvious money grab. One little search on the WWW will show you Iām right. OR you can just add dumb comments and think youāre smart.
Simm
Only two teams have open books. So any of this is speculation.
The gap between the haves and have nots is massive.
TheGr8One
So they invested 40% of their revenue back into the business? I can find you tons of businesses below that
Oldhalo
@bluesteele out of curiosity, what is your source on the RSox, what is debt owed and what were profits? That paints a better picture than Revenue alone and profit would be more useful information if we’re drawing comparisons.
Simm
Nobody knows the Red Sox profits. People just like to report rev that Forbes or some place guessed at.
stymeedone
MLB team books are not public, except for Atlanta. Whose speculation are you looking at? Would you care to reveal your source?
This one belongs to the Reds
More large market apologists just making s*** up.
CTS4
Hey Lousy GM shapiro …WAKE UP !!
Rsox
Will the Sox pivot to Santander or sit on their hands? Stay tuned…
Joemo
Oh I think the major off-season moves are done for the Sox.
The lineup really needs a RHB in the middle of the order and this was the obvious answer and they whiffed yet again.
Uncle Pedroās Dancing Kittens
I hope not. If they want to be competitive they need to get another bat. I would also like to see one more piece added to the bullpen.
YourDreamGM
1 sox doesn’t need outfielders, the other really doesn’t either but they are rebuilding anyways.
all in the suit that you wear
I doubt the Red Sox are adding an outfielder until they unload Yoshida’s 3 years/$54M remaining contract. They might not add Bregman until they unload that. They apparently won’t just eat his salary.
roob
Red Sox are loaded with outfielders. I think theyāre gonna have a great year. I like their moves.
Uncle Pedroās Dancing Kittens
I still think there is someone willing to take a shot with Yoshida, probably need to sweeten the pot with either money or a prospect or take back a bad contract. I certainly hope they are not done with making moves.
kgcubs
Aloha folks, crazy that on a smaller contract of this size with a team that rakes in the revenue, they’d need Teoscar to defer 1/3 of this contract. I’m amazed he went for this. Mahalo
YankeesBleacherCreature
It’s a loophole mechanism for teams to reduce AAV for luxury tax purposes. They’re also giving him a $23M signing bonus so I don’t think Teo has any personal net losses as a result of the deferrals. I’d imagine that other teams offered more but guess he likes the Dodgers.
kgcubs
Aloha Yankees, I hear you and understand it’s a loophole. I wonder in the next CBA agreement if this will be dealt with. I’m pretty sure no one thought a player given a $700mil deal would have 97% of it deferred. I’ve said to folks maybe a hard line of up to 15% deferred for no more than 5yrs. I didn’t have an issue with the size of the deal but you as the signing team must assume all the responsibilities of lost draft picks, paying the luxury tax to the league, etc. This loophole allows the team to “escape” some of those penalties and no says anything out of the MLB headquarters. So go ahead and sign Shohei, Snell and Teoscar but adhear to the rules as intended and accept the consequences. If LA couldn’t get around this, I wonder if they sign all these folks? Just a question. Take care now and have a Happy New year! Mahalo
YankeesBleacherCreature
Aloha KC! You too! I’m sure it will be addressed but this is a team owners’ problem. 2024 MLB salaries totaled close to $6B and Forbes estimates that MLB had $11.6B in revenues in 2023. I’m not sure what the solution is but players don’t want their share of the pie to shrink while league revenues continue to rise.
stymeedone
Please. Revenue and profit are different. Everyone is quick to point out revenue, but expenses are seldom mentioned. Player salaries are but one part. Did you know expenses continue to rise, also. Grocery stores have a much higher revenue than MLB, but after expenses are around 3% for profit. Not trying to make a comparison, just saying large revenues don’t automatically mean large profit.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Most people are aware of what net income is.
YourDreamGM
Teo is fine. He seen all the offers. Took the most appealing. Would you really want to give him 22m a year and lose draft pick? So 22m a year deferred in LA was probably the best offer or close enough to play where you are comfortable and have the best odds to win.
BlueSkies_LA
Here we go again, and again, and again. No, it is not a “loophole.” In fact, if you read the CBA (and some of us actually have), deferred salaries are treated as loans to the team, which are required to pay the player a set fixed interest annually. You’d think that anyone who has ever paid or been paid interest would immediately understand this concept… but no. And no, this doesn’t need to be “fixed” in the CBA. Both the players and the teams like having this option. No team is forced to offer a deferral and no player is forced to take one. They both do it as a matter of financial self-interest.
mad1
1 billion in deferrals
bluesteele
I hope so. Thatās the smart business way to do it.
TheGr8One
More dodger deferrals lose your minds fans of teams that arenāt doing the same but could.
GMoney28
66 M for an aging DH w/ platoon and K issues. Woof
DarrenDreifortsContract
When you’re giving players 700 million. You’re not really worried about 66 million lol.
Bivouac-Sal
@Gmoney
hahahahahahahah
love to know what squad you pull for.
taran7
He doesnāt platoon, got many, many clutch hits for LA, including post season, was a joy in the clubhouse, and in one year surpassed Mookie as my favorite Dodger.
JackStrawb
Who just put up a 4.3 WAR season and by NPV is probably getting less than a 20m AAV.
Aw, are you crying?
Skruf
AMEN!!!
Niekro floater
Fu#k Yea ! Now Roki… Go Dodgers !
boostreet
Omg, I actually forgot that theyāre going to get him too. To the victorsā¦.
Bivouac-Sal
HOO F-IN RAY!
jimij
Reds sit idle, watching the best outfielders disappear, this team needs a solid bat in outfield and someone with proven home runs, soon the bottom will drop, itās over, this team has only a few years to succeed with the young guys
boostreet
So many Reds fans in the comments. Reds are not in this league; this is not about the Reds. Just because they grew some talent doesnāt mean there will suddenly be money for FAās (or that free agents would choose Ohio over LA).
WadeBoggsWildRide
Reds fans have it pretty rough. I would take Ohio over CA. One of the last free states.
YourDreamGM
Yeah. We are discussing the real teams still. Once NY LA get all the best players we can pivot to the reds and talk about the scraps they picked up.
Johnny Devil
A dream gm in your own mind please self mute and save us all from your ridiculous and shallow minded thoughts on the trivial tidbits you spit out as relevant to the ongoing conversation. They,in fact, are amusing but really embarrassing to your parents.
YourDreamGM
Amusing is enough for me
Johnny Devil
Also liking your own comment is self amusing also.
YourDreamGM
Put 100k in escrow and I will live stream taking it to 2. Oh that’s right you’re a broke loser.
Johnny Devil
Your frustration is showing. I will debate you anytime.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Hahaha! What about the Pirates what kind of scraps will they end up with?
YourDreamGM
It’s getting bad. Back in the good ole days these richer teams were dum dums. They would have given Alonso 200m and Walker 100m. Pirates would have gotten Goldy Santana. It’s a good thing they can somewhat develop pitching now. Because the days of getting #4 starters like Anderson Quintana Velazquez for 3m are over. Cohen will give em 20m.
Pirates traded trash and got a all star platoon at 1b in Horowitz. Maybe they do he same for outfield. Or Winker is more valuable to Pittsburgh than anyone else so maybe they splurge on him. Profar that would really be a splurge so won’t bet on that. At worse I hope they sign 2 of the 4 remaining weak platoon all stars. Jack Suwinski was a platoon all star before hitting coach messed him up. So they could have a all star platoon if they can #GetJackBack They should have signed Tauchman. Maybe get Hayes.
DarrenDreifortsContract
The rich get richer! Welcome home Uncle Teo!
162-0 begins now!
Cap & Crunch
Mookie is really going to be the Ss vs all righties, its been in the picture frame the whole time, but really setting in today
Should be fun for us to watch how this transition goes, an adventure of sorts
belowme29
Next on the dodgers MENU. Arrenado, Kike, and Tanner Scott. Let’s Go Dodgers
DroppedThirdStrike
Scott is a low percentage ‘maybe’.
Kike is a ‘no’.
Arenado is a ‘hell no’.
WadeBoggsWildRide
I really hope they get Kike. All he needed was glasses. Even if they don’t need him.
Jordan 5
One more Hernandez to go
Wren
hope they figure a way to keep him around too. I think he made a speech in SD that turned it around. just speculation on my part but it seemed like that happened
YankeesBleacherCreature
This is lower than I expected for his AAV after the deferrals.
johncoltrane
LA deferrals with a steal of a deal
DarrenDreifortsContract
I’m really surprised he came back. He must not have had many offers and obviously no one wanting to give him a 4 year deal.
But I’m glad he’s back.
YourDreamGM
Just not worth losing draft pick for. Limited his earnings.
Mickey Solis
The most sickening and predictable news of the day. This loser knows heās nothing without the purchased superstars around him. All that BS about being far apart on a deal was smoke for fans to believe that someone other than these scumbags were going to get him. He was almost going to come crawling back to daddy. Iām sure he led these other teams on like a c***tease so the moneybags would throw a few extra dollars his way. Shut this stupid league down now before we have to see 6 straight World Series titles by these greedy pigs.
Cap & Crunch
Breath
YourDreamGM
Just 6 straight division titles. Someone is bound to win a playoff series against them at some point in 6 years.
Mickey Solis
I hope youāre right but theyāre just going to keep buying and buying and other teams will give up
YourDreamGM
@Mickey 6 years is still small sample. They could go 6 for 6. I won’t bet on it. Still though just getting to playoffs as a favorite is huge. You will get your share.
mkeving
What a pathetic baby tantrum youāre throwing here. Heās a grown man that chose where he wants to play and you go ahead and grow up while youāre at it.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
Wowā¦. Maybe take a break from baseball. Noms if this actually matters and it doesnāt seem like youāre particularly entertained by whatās supposed to just be harmless entertainment when push comes to shove.
Bivouac-Sal
Oh how I LOVE to see Mickey Solis seethe.
I’d tell you once again to seek professional help but apparently you enjoy your anguish as much as the rest of us enjoy reading your posts.
Mickey Solis
How do you support this team and what theyāre doing, seriously? I can understand in 2017, when they mostly built from within. But what theyāre doing now is inherently an insane advantage that only a few teams have. Theyāre not āsmarter than everyone else,ā maybe only the few teams that can actually spend, and being in LA they also have the advantage of weather and prestige teams canāt match. I just canāt believe as fans you donāt find it to at least take away from their success. Building a super team with unlimited funds isnāt some accomplishment the fans should feel proud of.
DigglinDickers
Will Mickey be able to handle it when LA signs Tanner Scott next?
DroppedThirdStrike
He couldn’t handle it when they extended their utility infielder, so…
Mickey Solis
Scott and Sasaki, Iām glad DraftKings gave me odds on those two. Who else is on your wish list in the future? Hopefully teams will just start handing you players and stop showing up for games.
DarrenDreifortsContract
In the previous 3 seasons before he joined the Dodgers he was averaging over 27 homers and over 95 rbi lol.
cencal
Let the hate flow through you!!
You don’t know the power of the Dark Side Mickey!!!
taran7
Maybe switch from baseball to bowling, cut back to every other day on the cocaine, toss the tequila and buy some wine.
fox471 Dave
Hey, mickey solis checked in. Missed ya buddy. Only a couple more days and your grammar schoolās Christmas vacation is over. Did Santa bring you some cool stuff? Hope so.
BurnerK
As contorted as a flakka dance down the Santa Monica pier.
Just watch the game and enjoy. Considering the paychecks going around this man is not overpaid.
yanks2323
More to the deferral pile for the LA Deferrals! Nicely done!
In nurse follars
Id like to see one division of 32 teams playing a completely balanced schedule where the top 7 teams make the playoffs and the best record gets a bye. That will do away with less than the best record making the playoffs and do away with the division based scheduling disparities. No more bogus regional rivalries or bogus notions of an american or national league. One division of 32.
Cap & Crunch
Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
WadeBoggsWildRide
The reason they have an imbalanced schedule is because of travel time. Otherwise they would only be doing 120 games or something like that.
YourDreamGM
Would destroy a dozen tv markets so not happening. Just get rid of both central divisions other than the cubs. Hard to support the product as is. Without the dream of winning the mediocre central and beating your rivals why care.
rmullig2
I’m sure you can set that up in a video game but in real life nobody else wants that.
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
These deferrals are getting out of hand and is quite laughable.
mad1
Might as well go ahead and defer Burnes 400 million at this point
l9ydodger
@mad1; excellent idea!!
YourDreamGM
Not enough k rate for LA or they would!
TAKERDBACKS
No one but dodger fans care about this team buying everyone and paying them until old age. It’s disgusting and it’s making other teams not spend as much cause some feel there is a budget and what’s the point if this team has 50 all stars
Bivouac-Sal
if memory serves the Snakes couldn’t finish ahead of the Friars in ’24.. but I remember an awful lot of crowing from you when the Dbacks made the Series in ’23.
TAKERDBACKS
Guess it doesn’t serve you right at all wrong perspn
Bivouac-Sal
try again in English
Bivouac-Sal
@ takerexpert
two words:
Corbin Burnes
cards1994
Baseball should do away with deferred contracts. If a team is willing to spend, by all means do it but money should not allowed to be deferred.
O'sSayCanYouSee
Nationals won a WS on the back of lots of deferred money. As long as all teams can do it, why not?
JerseyShoreScore
You probably work for the California state government. The only losers with deferrals is the California State Treasury. Players are beating California out of millions in of state revenue, as their rate is 13.3 percent. Ohtani might be saving up to 90 million state taxes.
O'sSayCanYouSee
Jersey — Interesting take, I hadn’t thought about the Tax ramifications. As if states don’t already pay the owners 100s of millions.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Pretty sure CA taxes you for income earned in state regardless of where you live. You can get exemptions based on the taxes you pay where you live so you aren’t “double taxed”. It is pretty lame. Communism is not good.
Dash 2
Chris Rock once said that rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series is like rooting for Bill Gates to win the lottery. Iād also add that rooting for the Dodgers to win the World Series again is like rooting for Elon Musk to win the lottery.
g0blue
We don’t claim Elon, that fool went to Texas. keep him.
Wren
yeah he’s some fool. please tell us more. actually don’t and keeping your politics to yourself is a virtue. btw you lost.
g0blue
what are you talking about? Live under a rock? Dodgers won it all baby!
Wren
swing and a miss!
WadeBoggsWildRide
I would love it if Elon won the lotto. That would be absolutely hilarious.
Salzilla
Good for Teo! It was a good fit. The Ohtani bromance continues!
*finally got a 4th one right in the contest lol. I was 3/4 and then a massive slide. Tough rookie year! (For the contest, been commenting for years, following more)
TrillionaireTeamOperator
Very fair deal for player and team and man the Dodgers with all those deferrals. How do they talk players into it and why arenāt more teams taking this approach!?
Diggydugler
I assume other teams offered more but Teoscar took less + deferrals for ez rings and LA lifestyle and no pressure as he is like the 5th best hitter compared to 1st or 2nd on other teams.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
LA lifestyle aināt all that and most of these guys generally live elsewhere in the offseason. I do agree he went with a team that gave him better odds at more rings/pistons season berths.
YourDreamGM
In my timeline he had a QO. Teams have to factor in that loss if signing him. So offer him less. He isn’t young or great. Even then then they just can’t match the $. He is already comfortable with LA vs a unknown. If he likes winning what better place. And if he hates winning I am sure he still enjoys his share of playoff $. So is he worth 23 24 25 26 million and losing draft picks signing $ luxury tax $. Whatever. Would be like paying him 30 million a year for some teams.
g0blue
LET’S GO DODGERS! now for the emotional signing, bring KikĆ© back!
JackStrawb
GET YOUNGER!
Wren
this is great news! what a team and still other moves out there!
mets1977
Whatās a little more deferred money between friends. Lost count of the total deferrals they have now
YourDreamGM
It might be getting to a point they could just buy another franchise with deferred $. Maybe not Mets but Marlins Pirates or something.
TAKERDBACKS
I’ll also say as a dodger fan are you really happy if you win? Did you really feel you earned it? Like those teams that have amazing chemistry and build it together from the farm or at least some cheaper free agents that were unexpected signings that did well? Not one fan is Impressed cause it’s expected and a failure if you don’t win. It may not seem like it yet but they are ruining the game and MLB is so far behind NFL and NBA they let it happen. Just unfortunate.
ernestg1
Yes.
YourDreamGM
Are Yankees fans happy with their 27 championships. Yes they are. Same with dodgers. They don’t care about fairness.
My favorite teams are Pirates Rays. I like a challenge. I am vast minority.
Wren
its a juggernaut for sure but lbh here. anyone could have signed FF or Teo or Shohei and Boston traded Betts to the team. Snell was there for any team as well. team continually grabs other teams leftovers like Muncy and Treinen as well as the entire bp mostly. seems like the team mentality is hitting on all cylinders. as a long time fan its pretty awesome to witness.
JackStrawb
Remember when Cohen was going to do this, but no decent GM would work for him the first three years?
Bivouac-Sal
awwww.
not happy… ecstatic.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Yes I earned it.
VegasMoved
Yes, yes, and yes.
fox471 Dave
Such a sad little puppy, TAKERDBACKS is.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Can’t wait to see what this contract actually looks like. How many deferred years etc. Teo ended up giving them a discount.
JackStrawb
Teoscar will also be cleaning the pools of the Guggenheim fellows, and is hoping the NPV of the deferred money ends up with him owing the Dodgers.
Greenwell
Wtf are the red Sox doing with missing out here? Right handed power hitting outfielder to replace oniel. Price seems very reasonable. God dang man! This sucks!
larkraxm
He didn’t want to play for Boston. I’m sure they offered same/similar contract (probably without the deferrals). He just didn’t want to play for them. Sometimes you can offer Juan Soto more money and he still won’t pick Toronto.
YourDreamGM
Hopefully they offered him less. Only way he wasn’t going back to LA is if LA didn’t want him.
WadeBoggsWildRide
No one “picks” Toronto. Toronto picks you. Like herpes.
JackStrawb
Hey, you got George Springer for 6/150m!
Too soon?
cwsOverhaul
LAD were getting the last look no matter what. Boston or any fanbase can groan at its FO, but do you want to desperately pay for a guy in typical decline years so much that even they say no way we’ll come close?
belowme29
Don’t you think he wants to win another ring. He had an awesome chemistry with the team last year and I’m sure he wants to be part of it for a long time.
letitbelowenstein
“Missed out” on Teoscar and Burnes. Obviously the Soto chase was just a John Henry smokescreen saying “See? We really want to get some high-quality players.” Face it, the Sox are going back to 1965 very soon and fans will start staying away. It isn’t like the Pirates or Rockies. Boston is a big-market area and any team that refuses to improve will suffer for it.
energel
god i hate the dodgers
settledownitsjustagame
Curious to know: is it because they have ownership that spends money on a product that people want to pay to see? Iām a die hard Cubs fan and I wish the Ricketts would spend like this instead of just knowing fans will fill the ballpark regardless of product on the field.
energel
I wish everyteam would spend a little, so the free agent market is free game, salary cap would be nice, also salary floor as well. dodgers has over 300 million in salary, Pirates still in the 70-90 mil range, and they arnt even last.
PuttPuttā°Ā³
I feel you.
MLB is such a joke.
fox471 Dave
And, yet, here you are.
Bivouac-Sal
didja also hate the kids who had dates for the Prom?
Bivouac-Sal
š
iknoweverythingesq
YES!!!
energel
ugg
Baseball_dude
Orioles sign Tyler OāNeil for 3 years $50 million, dodgers sign this guy for $66 with deferrals.. lol Os canāt do anything right lol
YourDreamGM
I’ll take Oneil the money and draft picks.
mustang
I maybe wrong but I donāt think the NY teams have used the ā deferred clauseā as much as the Dodgers.
Iām sure when they do MLB will do something about it.
lol
Simm
The dodgers are owned by a group that has 20x the money to play with as those NY teams.
YourDreamGM
Poor NY teams.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Yankees have a long-held policy not doing them as well as no early extensions. The only exceptions were Robbie Cano, Luis Severino, and Aaron Hicks
Niekro floater
Since the ol man died Yanks prefer counting money to spending it on product. Yea they spend a lil, usually an overpay like Fried, but they’re not loading pinstripes up to be allstar team Dodgers are n they HAVE the money. Funny seeing mighty yanks crying poor. Cashman used up his coupon money.
PuttPuttā°Ā³
Real big surprise. Teoscar lands back with the MLB champs.
Teams that have big money, they should just let those teams have who they want. It’s pretty much already like that.
I’m so disgusted with Major League Bsseball.
energel
agreed
WadeBoggsWildRide
You should quit
Smelly_Cobb
Doyers are annoyingly aggressive this off-season
bravesfan
Stinksā¦ dodgers just keep loading up on talent and whatās even more bothersome is that every other team in the league can do exactly what they are doing, perhaps to a lesser degree, but still very similar, and we are all pretending like the big bad dodgers are the only ones that can do itā¦ itās not true. You can see the financials of even the owners of the Aāsā¦. They have plenty of money and if they would invest in their sports business, theyād be plenty successful. They just choose to be conservative instead of taking a little risk with it. But each and every team has the revenue and means to do what the dodgers are doing
energel
Ohtani’s salary (70$) is more than the Athletics (62$), wdym every team has a chance? MLB needs a salary cap and/or salary floor
WadeBoggsWildRide
Commie
nicksc10
It’s pretty much LA v NY again. Everybody else is just playing for fun in the regular season.
Veejh
Yankees have won 1 WS since 2009. Dodgers have won 1 WS since 1998. No, 2020 does not count, the COVID season. Unless your team has gone thru the 162 gauntlet, it does not count.. So, they can keep spending, spending, spending, and losing, losing, losing. Keep your head up. MLB is not like other sports.
DroppedThirdStrike
Yes it counts. They all count. If you hoisted hardware at the end of the season, it counts. Period.
YourDreamGM
Why wouldn’t 2020 count? Were the Dodgers in jeopardy of not making the playoff tournament in a full season? I don’t think so.
WestVillageTiger
No real surprise and good takes here on Pages and Outmanā¦.
Niekro floater
This is story I been scanning “MLB Trade Rumors” for since Snell signing. Finally. All the Dodger haters, just imagine if your team was so hell bent on fielding best team out there. Gota respect that, they play within the rules. Gonna be fun year @Chavez Ravine. Go Dodgers !
YourDreamGM
If you are jealous of what they do just join them. You don’t need antenna on roof anymore. Can watch any team you want. And they are coming to a city near you.
SteveFinleyEnthusiast
I’m surprised it took this long on the reunion. Really seemed like a great fit for both sides.
Pete Cruise
Awesome ,another banger off the board for the Jays.
I hope this speeds up in the new year , so I don’t have to keep wondering if they have a chance on : Santander, Bregman or Burnes.
Sign already so I don’t have to keep wondering pathetically like jays have a shot.
kodion
One important detail that applies, specifically to the Dodgers in this case, to spending limitations is that putting hard caps in place jeopardizes MLB’s Anti-trust Exemption.
The only absolute certainty in baseball is that 100% of owners do not ever want that to come into question.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Excellent point. I don’t think many people know about the exemption.
padam
āNo other team rivals the potency of the L.A. lineup.ā
Arizona alone scored more last year than the Dodgers and one can argue they had an off year. Yankees, Mets, Braves, and Orioles Iād say would rival them offensively as well. Writers opinion, but certainly debatable.
Simm
Mets and Yankees../zero chance.
Healthy Braves team maybe and perhaps the Oās when all is going well.
DarkSide830
boo
rickoppelt
They canāt keep getting away with this!
swtnes34
More deferred money…can I pay for a team on credit too?
PrincessYuki
Enjoy the strikeouts. The Mariners sure did. The amount he struck out was the same as missing like 70 games.
Bivouac-Sal
Yuki,
Dodgers must have overlooked that. Probably the glare of the championship trophy getting in their eyes.
letitbelowenstein
Or the price tag of the store-bought trophy poked them in the eye.
Bivouac-Sal
@letitbelowlife
Thought you’d want to watch the trophy presentation and celebration again.
Enjoy.
mlb.com/video/dodgers-are-presented-with-the-world…
fox471 Dave
Actually, strikeouts notwithstanding, most of us are enjoying the World Championship. Teoscar was a huge part of that.
just_thinkin
Dang son.
Butter Biscuits
Teo simply didn’t want to leave
Ų¢ŁŁ Ł ŁŲØŁŁ_.._.ŲØŁŲŖŲ²Ų§ ŲØŁŲØŁŲ±ŁŁŁ Ų¢Ų“ŲŖŁŁ ŁŁŲŖŲ“Ų±
Going to be very interesting once they sign Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Santander. Where will they go in the lineup? I “defer” to the Dodgers.
Doral Silverthorn
The World Champs are better than they were last year on paper.
Baseballisthebest
Got another one right in the FA contest.
fox471 Dave
Outstanding signing.
DigglinDickers
I donāt ever want to see Outman take another at bat for LA again.
Rays in the Bay
Overpaid. Older players have decreasing numbers (especially after making bank) and he’ll mostly be a DH only player after next year. What will they do with him + Ohtani + Conforto? Conforto/Hernandez are getting older and reaching DH-only phases of their careers. If they take those spots, where does Ohtani fit in the field?
Just seems like a lot of money for either bench players or depth players that can’t play defense. But if there’s one team that can afford to DFA a player making 22 mil, it’s the Dodgers. Who cares about plebian organizations like the Rays/Pirates/Reds? Seriously.
WadeBoggsWildRide
Wonder when Taylor gets the axe?
TrillionaireTeamOperator
If I am reading this correctly with the signing bonus and deferrals, the present day annual salary for Teoscar Hernandez will be approximately $6.7M per season.
What the rise of signing bonuse and deferrals really tell me is that these players are getting smarter about lifetime earnings and prefer one time lump sum payments upfront followed by longer term steady year over year income rather than the salaries they used to receive cut and dry per season only to have to be frustrated by the stagnant income and then adjusting to the lack of significant income after their playing days, or feeling frustrated by thw tamped down annual salaries they used to go for straight up.
Bivouac-Sal
signing bonuses are counted in AAV for salary purposes. So is a portion of the deferrd bucks.
Johnny Devil
Take a breath.
SteamyNipsMcCronk
Dawg, as a trillionaire team operator you donāt get contracts. Bonuses and deferred funds are counted. Just not the same way. Present value just says that player agents are getting better at getting continuous paydays.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
Dawg I fully get contracts and money Iām simply discussing playersā evolving approach to their career earnings.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
You guys donāt get what my point is at all. Iām not talking about AAV or the luxury tax or any of that.
Iām talking about how individual players prefer to structure their payment over time- upfront, during their active career and upon retirement.
Thatās all.
Not judging or overthinking the teamās side of it.
Bivouac-Sal
Trill…
Too sane for the room.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
Bivouac-Sal ā Respect, homie. Game recognize game.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
Since I canāt reply directly to YBC:
Of course itās better to get as much up front as possible, for investment purposes and present value etc, but thatās never how these contracts will work.
At the same time a lot of players fully admit that they can basically live off their original rookie signing bonus and some of they arbitration salary and the free agency money is often just gravy on top of gravy on top of gravy if they arenāt dispersing it to family and charity.
And yes of course teams such as the Dodgers love to get creative with salary structures to lower their luxury tax and make annual budgets easier, like when the Nationals were more known for deferral contracts.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@Trill People smart with money will always take the lump sum. Reckless spenders will remain broke bc that backpay is going to pay off debt.
The increase of structured deferrals is a function of teams not wanting to pay higher luxury taxes. Not the players’ choice in most cases.
DroppedThirdStrike
Not even close to correct.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
So then please enlighten me baseball team owner / assistant gm / accountant / Teoscar Hernandez himself.
WadeBoggsWildRide
30 or so million in that first year can be invested and you are making $3m a year on interest.
Blue Baron
Iām just here for the whining of Dodger haters.
stugots
Teoscar is a poor fielder and sure had good production at the plate. I feel they can get the production from Andy Pages whoās young and better fielder, now got no playing time unless there injuries.
Bivouac-Sal
@stu
Barring more action from Friedman, I see Pages platooning with Conforto.
seamaholic 2
If Taylor wins the 2B job the Dodgersā lowest salary for the starting 10 on opening day will be Edmanās $8.3m, the only one under $10m. That wonāt change until they need a fifth starting pitcher. I donāt understand how Dodger (and Met and Yankee) fans find it enjoyable to root for teams like that. Just me.
Bivouac-Sal
seama…
Lux will be the 2B not Taylor And Lux makes 1.225 mill
And as for it being enjoyable to be a Dodger fan…there is nothing better. I suffered through many years –decades–of the Dodgers not winning. And it was still great to be a Dodger fan. Now? It’s f-in FANTASTIC.
Every fan wants his team to put the best possible team on the field. At bottom, what they earn I couldn’t care less. The more the merrier.
But you go right on judging.
mkeving
You get to cheer for a team that puts the money back on the field instead of the ownerās pockets. Itās like loving someone who loves you back, just works and feels better.
Blue Baron
seamaholic: Iāve been a Mets fan since my first game in 1968. Rooting for them is a function of loyalty, not payroll.
seamaholic 2
Ok, I guess. Sounds more like a job or a brand than fun, to me.
Blue Baron
seamaholic: Although you know nothing about me or the fun Iāve had as a fan.
Itās a good idea to be more open-minded and less judgmental.
VegasMoved
Most fans don’t choose their fandom based on how much the lineup is paid.
Bivouac-Sal
stu
they didn’t call you before doing this deal?????
Jabronie23
I get resigning Hernandez (although I think signing Adames and keeping Mookie in the OF would have made more sense), but Conforto makes no sense. Pages is probably better than him and needs to play everyday for his development
DroppedThirdStrike
Pages will play plenty. Every time Betts or Lux are given a day off Edman moves to infield and Pages plays. If Conforto or Hernandez get injured or are given rest he will play. Every time Lux or Conforto are pinch hit for a righty bat he will play. Whenever Roberts decides to overload the lineup with right handed bats he will play.
Bivouac-Sal
jabronie
2024 stats
Pages vs lefties: .917 OPS. vs righties ..647
.520 slug vs lefties. .370 vs righties.
oddly Conforto had better splits vs lefties than vs righties.
anyhow I see them in a platoon
Golfsucks
Man if I was in the players union I would really want to check the Dodgers books.
The shear volume of their deferrals seems very bizarre to me.
Why is it that all of the other teams aren’t just doing the same thing as the Dodgers?
Rogers probably could have offered Ohtani a billion dollars in deferrals to go to Toronto.
Other teams aren’t even entertaining deferrals even just to get under the tax, but the Dodgers are doing it all of the time and in plain site.
Makes entirely no sense to me and feels like it is going to implode on itself at any moment.
Also, worrying is that no other teams are calling the Dodgers out.
No sympathy for any player if this goes south.
Bivouac-Sal
@golfsucks
“Makes entirely no sense to me”
that is apparent
VegasMoved
Other teams do deferrals as well, the Dodgers just do them more (with Ohtani really skewing the numbers).
Old York
I got another one right! Now I have 6 correct picks. On my way to being the champion!
Bivouac-Sal
watch out York. The haters will come after you next.
Best Screenname Ever
Good for Teoscar. Nice to see a player who wants to play for a specific team end up there.
Diggydugler
All free agents can go where they want, sometimes they have to take a bit of a discount like I am sure Teoscar did but they arent forced to go to a team they dont want to play for.
CCooper8920
Rich get richerā¦.eventually, after deferred money
DirtyWater04
And there it is. Yet another deal the Red Sox could and arguably should have made or topped, and didn’t. Maybe Teoacar wanted to stay in LA all along and if so I get that’s out of our control, but now what? We just let a guy who can play all 3 outfield spots and hit 30 home runs walk to a division rival and aren’t going to replace him at all?
Zonedeads
Donāt the Dodgers owe him money from his previous deal?
DrDick
Either the Mets or Dodgers (maybe both) are going to be really pissed off come World Series 2025.
Red Sox Restoration Project
Honestly, Mets don’t even have an ace. I’m not sure they’re a given for a playoff spot, let alone a World Series. We shall see.
Ragnarok
Fantastic signing for the dollars spent. He fits well there and this contract is well below bloated expectations.
Santander looks poised to disappoint in his FA deal.
gorav114
Hopefully he still gets enough to get the Os a draft pick!
SadMsFan
Very good and logical/rational deal for both sides. Dodgers pretty much have secured themselves another World Series title in 2025 with this move, and Teo has secured himself a few more rings.
Red Sox Restoration Project
There is no guarantee on a WS title
Stieb Cooperstown
can’t blame Shitkins on this one – Teo wanted to sign with the Dodgers and took a team friendly deal. maybe the Jays can trade for Outman. oh wait, we have no pieces that the Dodgers would want….
Niekro floater
Re-signing Teo n adding Snell, Dodgers are better than they were last season. Roki wants to play for winner, sacrificing millions n millions by being posted early to do so, this has gota sweetin the LA sales pitch. Plus he sees how this organization takes care of there own.
Red Sox Restoration Project
I’d be wary of Snell.
rmullig2
They better be putting away money for these deferrals. Once their TV contract ends after 2038 they will be taking a big time cut in that revenue stream. Cable TV will likely not even exist anymore.
Mynameisnoname
What’s the O/U on LAD season win total?
I’m setting it at 108. That may seem aggressive, but with the return of two way Ohtani and the addition of Snell to round out the leagues top rotation, there is no reason they shouldn’t win 2 out of every 3 games.
Niekro floater
Like they do every season. Just keep fighting n winning series. One game @a time. Play the game in front of u.
TB Sox NY
This contract and the others the Dodgers and other big spenders might make more fans show up for the Rockies,La Angels ,Pirates and Oakland( whatever team name they go by) series.Just to see if they have a shot of taken the divison each year.
braddy513
Dang, was hoping the Reds would have swooped him on that 3yr 66M. He could have been a nice pairing with Elly at GABP
braddy513
Of course the Reds would have probably had to go with a higher AAV. More like 3yr/72 with opt outs
Matthew De Lorge
Deferring money should not be allowed to circumvent the cap
Bivouac-Sal
But then he would have had to play, not to mention live, in Cincinnati.
runningwithnailclippers
Have you ever driven in LA?
Bivouac-Sal
that’s all you got?
Ever wonder why there are so many people, so many cars, so much money in LA?
‘Cause it’s not Cincinnati.
And for the record I don’t live there. My team does.
runningwithnailclippers
So your logic is basically this: they only live in LA becuase it is not Cincy? That’s impressive.
Bivouac-Sal
Since it seems hard for you to understand, ask a friend for a help.
norcalblue
I have mixed emotions. I like Teo, heās a great teammate and he contributed mightily to last yearās championship. He was great in the clubhouse on a team that was as united as any youāll ever see in the MLB. Iām happy for him, he got paid fairly.
As a Dodgers fan, I think three years was too much. I felt 2 years and $55 million would have been better. Heās 32, I doubt we will see the Teo we saw last year ever again.
Bivouac-Sal
Mookie is 32. Aaron Judge is 32. Manny Machado is 32. What a decrepit bunch.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
It behooves me the Detroit Tigers should ever worry about losing a draft pick or a comp draft pick……..
Have the draft results really been anything to brag about?
A non-issue that is another excuse = NOT TO SPEND MONEY.
Dodgerfan75
We are loaded for a repeat
Red Sox Restoration Project
We will see. Money got you 2024, but no guarantee on a repeat
chemfinancing
It’s 100% guaranteed they will repeat with Burnes out in Baltimore officially there is no one within a country mile of the Dodgers despite whatever YourDreamGM or another one of these baseball dummies trying to US Army their way into your pocketbook says
Red Sox Restoration Project
It’s not like the Dodgers ran away with the division until the end anyway
BlueSkies_LA
As the man said, if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster. Baseball doesn’t come with any. In baseball all you can do is try to improve your probability of success — this being a game of probabilities, not guarantees. The Dodgers have done a lot to improve their probability of success. This is all anyone can say without having someone point at them and smirk as if they were maybe a totally silly person. And who’d want that?
Dodgerfan75
Money didnāt win it all in 24. Clutch freeman and good arms won it. This lineup is loaded and the staff is deeper. If the young arms hold up theyāll win 100 games again. If they make it out the division series theyāll be heavy favorites. Solid club up and down with owners who actually want to win. Nothing in baseball is 100% but Iāll take 90% and enjoy the games.
Red Sox Restoration Project
Pretty much figured this. The Red Sox being involved was once again fake news
Red Sox Restoration Project
Dodgers will be in trouble when they have to pay all that deferred money
Bivouac-Sal
Try paying attention. It’s been explained over and over again to those with any middle school reading comprehension. The return on the investment of the deferral money in escrow will have more than paid for the debts when due.
BlueSkies_LA
True, except for the escrow part. Escrow implies that the deferral set-asides are held by a third party. They aren’t, and this is a crucial distinction. The funds can be invested by the team in any liquid asset (or in non-liquid assets with the approval of the player). Financial statements for these deferral accounts are required to be submitted to the commissioner’s office quarterly. It’s all in the CBA.
fox471 Dave
Redsox: OMG! This is not that hard. Deferred money WILL BE THERE, when time comes.
Red Sox Restoration Project
If you say so, but when Mookie and Shohei start to crumble and they’re still paying for them, good luck
It’s not so much they can’t afford it; it has more to do with paying declining players in their later years who hold up a roster spot
BlueSkies_LA
The impacts of a player being signed beyond their productive years has nothing to do with whether any part of their salary was deferred. Nothing at all.
Red Sox Restoration Project
I apologize. I was looking at it is the total amount of money, not deferred as itself. Sorry for the confusion. Just think the money in general will catch up to the Dodgers.
I see how I worded it was wrong. I was just thinking of deferred money on top of already big contracts
chemfinancing
And *throws up in mouth*
Dumpster Divin Theo
Having secured baseball contract next destination for Teoscar in LA maybe that thin dude who was Wonka for playing folk singer
CFS77
Nice repost to kick MLB in the nutz after Kim.
geauxbraves
I know the Dodgers have deferred a lot of cash and whatever they want to do is up to them. However, they keep this up and when the balance comes due, they are going to end up with a $200M or more payroll for players who aren’t even playing for them anymore
84LeFlore
Gosh, I’m glad the Dodgers were able to squeeze out a few more million to sign another free agent!
They’re like the federal government. Spend and spend and spend and spend and spend and…
WadeBoggsWildRide
The Federal Government borrows and borrows and borrows. Then inflates the dollar as a form of hidden taxation. You’ve been taxed an extra 50% over the last 4 years. No legislation, no representation. End the Fed.