Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes says he doesn’t think his team’s massive spending spree is “bad for baseball.” Seriously. He said that.
The Dodgers have added more than $450 million in guaranteed salaries this offseason to their payroll. It’s gotten so bad that even New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said in an interview on the YES Network this week, “It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing.”
The Yankees owner, who has Major League Baseball’s third-highest luxury tax payroll at just under $303 million, said that. (The Phillies are second at just under $308 million – more than $80 million less than the Dodgers will be paying this year.)
The Dodgers, who won the World Series in 2024, have signed free agents Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim and Kirby Yates; re-signed Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Treinen; and gave Tommy Edman a multiyear extension, this offseason, to go with the 10-year, $700 million contract they gave Shohei Ohtani last offseason.
By comparison, the Chicago White Sox, who finished 41-121 last season, have signed Omar Narvaez, Martin Perez, Josh Rojas, Bryse Wilson, and Mike Tauchman. One of these things is not like the other.
“We are focused on and tasked with making sure our team is as good as possible,” Gomes said on The Show. “And if that is creating ire elsewhere, that’s fine because I think that means our fans are very happy, which is what the goal is.”
Brandon Gomes also tried to deflect criticism of his team’s spending by pointing out that it doesn’t guarantee they will win another World Series (which kind of misses the point).
“So, you know, I think the nature of our sport, the nature of the playoff format, you can be technically the best team and it doesn’t guarantee you anything,” he said. “So all we’re doing is making sure we have as talented a team as possible.”
“A lot of these moves, I’m sure you’ve heard, you know, us and [president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman] and others talk about it, is with the goal of not having to go out in July. And go and, you know, trade for guys and hopefully these, we are creating both impact moves with high-end talent and and depth to not have to go and do something in July. If we have to, we will, but the goal is to be like, ‘hey, this team is good enough as is to go out and make a deep run into the playoffs.’ Obviously, first step is getting there.”
