The Dodgers announced that they’ve traded minor league outfielder Dylan Campbell to the Phillies for international signing bonus space. Los Angeles will reportedly receive either $750K or $1MM in pool allotments. Teams must trade the allotments in increments of $250K.
Los Angeles is adding to its bonus pool for the impending Roki Sasaki signing. The Dodgers reportedly agreed to a $6.5MM bonus with the Japanese star pitcher. The Dodgers had just $5.1462MM in their pool allotment at the beginning of the signing period. They were tied with the Giants for the lowest opening pool. That’s a reflection of their status as luxury tax payors and the fact that they surrendered $1MM in pool space to sign Shohei Ohtani after he’d rejected a qualifying offer last offseason.
It seems that the Campbell trade is the first of what’ll be multiple moves on the Dodgers’ part to add to their pool allotment. Even if they receive $1MM from Philadelphia, they’d be at $6.1462MM overall. They’ll need to make at least one more move to get to their agreed upon bonus with Sasaki. Presumably, another deal is already in the works and will be finalized in the coming days. Sasaki has until the closing of his 45-day posting window on January 23 to officially sign his contract.
Philadelphia never had a chance to get Sasaki. They’ll leverage some unused pool space to add to their farm system. Campbell, a right-handed hitter, was the Dodgers’ fourth-round pick out of the University of Texas in 2023. He played his entire first full professional season at High-A Great Lakes. Campbell hit .251/.331/.372 with 10 homers and 42 stolen bases in a pitcher-friendly setting in the Midwest League. He can play all three outfield positions but spent most of his time in right field.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN first reported the Dodgers were trading Campbell to Philadelphia for pool space. Francys Romero reported the $750K to $1MM allotment.
Huzzah. This was the Phillies way of getting involved in the Sasaki talks.
This guy doesn’t seem to be particularly great, but good for the Phillies for picking up a prospect for some money they might not have spent anyway.
Yeah. Nothing to get excited about, but you never know.
It’s not even money they traded.
I know. That’s why I said “they might not have spent anyway”.
He has decent upside and he’s only 22. I liked the transaction.
Dammit, Phillies! It’s all your fault!
God bless the Dodgers.
Padre fans tears taste bitter
I don’t know they taste kinda sweet to me
Tears taste salty. But I love salt….
You meant fine wine.
It isn’t just Padre fans. Everyone hates the Dodgers now.
I don’t
Part of me hates the Dodgers, part of me hates the vast majority of MLB franchise ownership groups who cry poor and/or are content being mediocre. It’s a great time to be a Dodgers fan. It’s a terrible time to be a baseball fan.
Sorry, don’t compare those teams to the dodgers, it is all about their financial ability. It’s not cheap owners. The dodgers can almost cover their entire payroll with their television contract, not to mention. They are backed by a 300 billion dollar Guggenheim group. Add to that deferring a ton of money so they can afford to buy even more players, and you have a huge problem.
It’s not just about spending money anymore. The deferrals and international bonus pool trade shenanigans…etc. The Dodgers FO is the best in the sport, and it’s for ratings good to have a bad guy, but the sport is absolutely broken. It’s turning into soccer levels of ridiculousness.
But whatever. Congrats to Dodgers fans. They should be stoked.
So what exactly did they do wrong? All 30 teams got international money and could have done what they did, and ALL of them (except the Giants) could have gotten higher amounts of money to offer. It just wasn’t about the money.
And all 30 teams can defer payroll if they want… it still gets paid in an escrow and they pay luxury tax on the calculated present day value. It’s the same rules for everyone man.
But 20 or so of the 30 teams are trying to pump their value so they can sell and would never consider deferrals.
That’s why Artie didn’t consider matching the Ohtani offer and why the Nats didn’t sell. You can only defer if you plan to hang around for the long haul.
“It’s the same rules for everyone man.”
No, it isn’t. Roki decided he was going to the Dodgers a long time ago. No other team had a shot. It was all a charade.
What difference does it make when he made the decision?
I know you know this, but.. Deferring money isn’t new. I understand why people are upset about how much of Shohei’s deal is deferred, but that’s sort of up to Shohei, and not the Dodgers. You’re just not going to find many players that are not only willing to take, but offering to take the deferrals. Everything else you wrote, I completely agree with. And it would be bad for baseball, with all of those things mentioned, if the Dodgers did not go and spend the way that they have. The Dodgers paid almost 1/3 of the total collective bargaining tax pool, paid by 9 MLB clubs in ‘24. 103 million last season, if I remember right. A MLB record that they’ll blast through this year, and for the foreseeable future. I just don’t see the argument that what the Dodgers are doing is bad for baseball. MLB needs a villain to be marketable. The smaller market clubs that don’t fill seats need that CBT money to even function. Everyone laughed at the Dodgers before last year and called them Mickey Mouse. Well, I guess you can say that they aren’t mousing around anymore.
The deferring money isn’t the issue you think it is.
Per the MLBPA, all deferred money must be funded at the net present value of the day it would be due within two years into a financial instrument like an annuity with a 8 percent rate of return. In Ohtani’s case, that means the $68 million he deferred in 2024 until 2034 must be put into an annuity by 2026 but at the 2024 value of $46 million.
Considering there are reports that the Dodgers made $120 million in year one alone off of the success of Ohtani, it’s a wonder why other teams (looking at you Steve Cohen) didn’t offer him a billion dollars last year.
While I see the hate I don’t understand it. I’m sorry but I don’t feel sorry for billionaires. Secondly make an effort.
The billionaires aren’t sorry at all, and I’m not sorry for them. I’m sorry for the fans. I’m fortunate enough to root for one of the teams that spends a ton.
Super teams are fun because more often than not they don’t win, makes routing against them that much more fun.
Actually, they win more often than not. There’s a direct correlation between spending and playoff appearances over the last decade. Winning the World Series is always going to be tough, but the Dodgers have won 2 in the last 4 years, and have been in the playoffs every year of their spending spree.
Is there? I’ll check that or send me a link.
Usually I feel like the playoffs are a good mix of big money and smaller teams.
I looked for 2024, 5 of 8 who made the playoffs were in bottom 15 or payroll.
I’ll look at a few more years
RE: Shohei’s deferrals
I think that the Angels are more responsible for that than the Dodgers. Guy was tired of being great and losing, so he wanted to give whatever team he ended up on the flexibility to assure no more 75 win teams
Padres livng rent free
Atkins let the Jays be used as leverage again.
This has to be the last straw (no pun intended)
Some GM’s are playing chess. Some GM’s are playing checkers. Ross Atkins is out here playing tic-tac-toe in finger paints, by himself… and somehow losing.
Hahaha… I was rooting for you guys.
Good one Dave
hey Philly, your not helping by giving them internation pool money
Doesn’t matter, he wouldn’t “grant an audience” anyway.
Phillies DID have scouts on him in Japan a few yrs ago. Guess he wasn’t too taken with them?
Not mad at the Dodgers at all – they are just taking advantage of the existing system. But yeah, the system is becoming more warped than ever.
We are Phils fans and, notwithstanding the woeful history, we are very lucky right now to have a terrific lead owner and a top shelf organization. We can and do spend, and try to even approach things wisely. The large group of smaller market teams have it worse, and the bottom tiers have to do everything right in order to have a shot every now and then so I appreciate our own advantages.
But the imbalances at the top levels are huge, and it will become problematic. I understand why fans will hate the Dodgers, just as they hated the Yankees for so long as it isn’t fun getting sand kicked in your face by those that own the frickin’ beach.
The saving grace thus far is simply the nature of the game, Winning in the playoffs is still a game of chance to an extent – injuries and health; who is hot; short series and so on. Now, the Dodgers are trying to rig even that by buying a ridiculous amount of depth in addition to working to corner the top shelf as well. Hopefully, the Baseball Gods will keep things somewhat leveled out however, as we don’t need to go back to the days when the Yankees used a couple of major league clubs as their own farm system.
Who else is boycotting Dodgers games this year?
That’ll show them!
LOL
I’m going to their road games find some good seats
I bet Toronto has some international bonus to trade.
Thanks for your business, Philly.
Welcome to the Dodgers @Roki. You’re gonna love it here…. I guarantee it.
how much is roki total contract? any dets yet
Dodgers have about 5 million initially and can potentially add about 3 million more. Somewhere below that
Hmm ok?
Looks like a speedy of type w/ a bit of pop and k’s? Finished last season at A+
Wonder what the cost was? (not posted as of yet)
No one should be trading with them and enable their under the table dealing
Roki is an MLB free agent, there is nothing under the table about this
Not even a top 30 guy, why did Phillies have to oblige here?
Just shows you these teams don’t care nearly as much as the fans do. The George Brett days of wanting to punch opposing players are over. Different game, different generation, different kind of wealth.
Errr
More than likely this didn’t stop the inevitable. He was probably always signing with the dodgers, this was just a cherry on top move because the jays have an incompetent GM who thought he had a chance.
Phillies got a player for free, this didn’t change the outcome of Roki going there
Phillies might have also bought themselves some goodwill with the Dodgers FO for future trades. I imagine the Dodgers need to make room on their 40 man soon. Just good business.
I sure as hell wouldn’t be giving them anythingb unless the return was crazy.
If you can aquire a prospect you like more than you can get using the space it’s a smart move.
Philly has some really bright dudes in their FO.
Lol at everyone who speculated LAD would give up a top 10 guy for space
Sasaki will get more money. But he wudda signed with the Dodgers regardless….
So sick of the Dodgers get deal done to screw baseball
Dodgers could fill their 40 man roster with Rokis for what Arte paid Rendon
Surely more teams could’ve tried to bend the Dodgers over here in trading international money, like Dodgers may have let more good pieces go for slot money.
This has got to stop. Other teams helping the Dodgers and Yankees dominate the sport.
Other teams will do what’s in their best interest. Good for the Phillies trading away something ethereal fit something tangible.
Phillies really want to be more hated by baseball fans.
A+ LA
Might be for Roki. But I am sure they would like to sign some other players as well. With the right scouting they can trade guys like this who they seen and know and don’t think much of for more promising prospects.
Love this deal for the Phillies. Shades of the Jayson Werth deal many years ago.
What if all 29 teams simply refused to trade any international pool allotments to the Dodgers? That’d be great.