Seven questions to get you through another frigid week in what feels like the longest month of the year:
In the last week, the Dodgers have added Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki and top free-agent reliever Tanner Scott to an already-stacked, very expensive roster.
Is there no limit to how much talent they have and how much they can spend? Blake Snell’s deal last month was Los Angeles’ fourth nine-figure contract in the last 12 months and seventh on the roster. Combined, the Dodgers have guaranteed those seven players – Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts – more than $2 billion.
Their spending has spurred an ongoing discussion: are the Dodgers the problem? Shouldn’t they be stopped from building the ultimate super-team? What’s the point of the luxury tax when the richest clubs just to pay the penalties – a drop in the bucket compared to the contracts they’re willing to give out – and continue spending?
Yes, the Dodgers are the problem, but mostly because MLB isn’t doing enough to force other teams to be more like them. The Dodgers are doing what all teams should be doing: whatever it takes to win.
If MLB had a payroll floor and issued fined to teams that fail to meet the minimum spend, it would give clubs two options: pay a fine for being cheap, which equates to putting money in a paper shredder, or actually spend money to improve the roster. If a team has to spend either way, logic dictates they’ll do so in the way that will yield money. Better teams draw increased viewership and attendance, which leads to more spending on concessions and merchandise. When Ohtani signed last offseason, his jersey set a Fanatics’ all-time record for jersey sales within the first 48 hours of release, selling at more than double the rate of the previous record-holder, soccer star Lionel Messi. Ohtani has also led MLB’s jersey sales for the last two years. The Dodgers will make back every dollar they spend on him and millions more.
The Dodgers are always the bride and never the bridesmaid, for two reasons. First, because of their own priorities. The Dodgers have made themselves the ultimate destination for players by proving they will do whatever it takes to win. Even though he loves Fenway Park and publicly stated that he’d like to play for the Red Sox, slugger Teoscar Hernandez turned down Boston’s two-year, $28 million offer last offseason in favor of a one-year, $23.5 million deal with Los Angeles. The Sox were also in on Hernandez before he re-signed with the Dodgers this offseason.
Secondly, the priorities of other clubs. Only through the frugality of other franchises were the Dodgers to ink some of their biggest stars. Freeman and Betts were World Series champions before the Braves and Red Sox tightened their belts and let their homegrown stars go. Players know which franchises share their goal of winning and which ones would rather save money, and given the choice, they’ll sign with the former.
There will always be some teams willing to spend above the pack, but there are far too many that should be spending more. And as superstar contracts are only going to keep getting bigger, the league needs to intervene to prevent the already enormous gap between the haves and have-nots from widening to the point of catastrophe.
The Red Sox have already brought in left-handers Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman, and Garrett Whitlock confirmed he’s returning to the bullpen this year, but another proven righty would certainly bolster the relief core. Top free agent options include Kirby Yates and Tommy Kahnle, but the list is dwindling rapidly. The bullpen market has heated up in recent weeks. In addition to Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Clay Holmes, Andrew Kittredge, José Leclerc, Chris Martin, AJ Minter, and Blake Treinen (another Dodgers signee), are off the board.
Kenley Jansen also remains available, but his time in Boston ended on a tense note; sources told the Herald that several Red Sox teammates had grown frustrated with the veteran closer for not being a team player, among other reasons.
Another potential right-handed option for the Boston bullpen is David Robertson. He hasn’t been pitching forever, but it’s close: he turns 40 on April 9 and this season will be his 17th. Remember when he was a Yankee?
On Friday, Rafael Devers posted a screenshot of his No. 2 ranking on MLB Network’s Top 10 Third Baseman and wrote, “Años tras años,” Spanish for “years after years.”
It feels relevant, given how the Red Sox are considering bolstering their roster.
The Red Sox are considering two paths to adding a right-handed bat: giving Alex Bregman an enormous contract or taking on the remainder of Nolan Arenado’s enormous contract.
Yet either way, they’d be spending large sum on a player who could balance the lineup, but who doesn’t necessarily fit the roster. Both are third basemen, which is Devers’ position, and in their 30s. Arenado’s power production has plummeted.
Is either option worth the money and trouble, especially if it negatively impacts Devers? The Red Sox have options on the roster and several in the upper levels of the farm system, including top shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer, who will be expanding his repertoire to include some second and third base this spring training. After missing nearly all of last season due to injuries and a demotion to Triple-A, manager Alex Cora feels Vaughn Grissom should get a clean slate to prove himself this year, and a healthy Trevor Story would be game-changing.
Perhaps the Red Sox would be better off seeing how things go in the early months of the regular season and making a trade, if necessary.
The NL has the defending-champion Dodgers, which is self-explanatory, and the Mets, who signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking $15-year, $765 million deal.
Imagine a Dodgers-Mets NLCS. Is there any ALCS matchup that comes close to being as intriguing?
In a word, no. Perhaps principal owner John Henry was serious when he said that the Fenway Sports Group portfolio is full.