Rebeccca Collins

I used to love the offseason in Major League Baseball. The rumors, the waiting and the feeling that every team has at least a chance to flip its future with one big move.

Then the Los Angeles Dodgers show up and there goes another top free agent getting paid a ridiculous amount of money.

This is not just about jealousy. I am a huge fan of MLB, with the big moments and stars it creates. What gets under my skin is how predictable the ending has become. When the Dodgers want someone, 99.9% of the time, they get them.

Look at the last few seasons. The Dodgers landed starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million deal with massive deferrals. They grabbed starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million contract, plus the posting fee. Then, Los Angeles added starting pitcher Blake Snell on a five-year deal reportedly worth $182 million.

It kept piling on with more star power, including international ace Roki Sasaki. This offseason, the Dodgers did it again, signing Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million deal and closer Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69 million deal.

This is about more than just assembling a team; it’s about creating a monopoly that can’t be stopped.

Then, we have the way their money gets moved around. Ohtani defers $68 million of his $70 million average annual salary. Tucker’s contract details also include deferrals, because the Dodgers have basically turned deferring money into a team habit rather than a rare exception.

I get it. Deferrals are legal. Teams can use them, and players agree to them. However, when the Dodgers repeatedly rely on deferrals, it no longer seems like a strategic decision but a loophole that MLB consistently ignores.

This is where the lack of a salary cap matters. MLB does not operate like the NFL, NBA or NHL, where a cap forces real trade-offs.

MLB’s competitive balance tax (CBT) for 2025 is set at $241 million. The CBT allows MLB to see how far over the luxury tax line a team went, based on a player’s average annual value (AAV) and additional benefits.

The Dodgers’ CBT was $417.3 million, exceeding the threshold. As repeat offenders, they paid a record $169.4 million in the luxury tax and spent $347 million on player contracts, totaling about $515 million.

Combine the six MLB teams with the lowest payrolls and the Dodgers still outspent them by $5 million, with their luxury tax payment exceeding 12 teams’ payrolls. It’s absolutely ridiculous and makes MLB feel like anything but a fair fight.

Fans will argue that MLB owners should spend more. I hear that, and sometimes it is true, but this argument ignores the reality for many teams.

Not every franchise has the same local revenue. Not every revenue prints money. Fans get told to be patient, trust the farm system and support the team. Then the Dodgers show up with another superstar like it’s nothing and patience starts to feel like a scam.

It also drags the entire sport toward a fight it cannot afford.

The MLB labor agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026, and a 2027 lockout seems likely as the sport heads toward another spending fight neither side wants to lose.

Owners will blame the Dodgers and argue for a salary cap, appearing hypocritical given their own lack of spending. Players will oppose a cap, fearing it will limit their earnings and shift power to owners.

Through all the fighting, the fans will get the short end of the stick, watching a bunch of rich people argue about being richer.

The Dodgers didn’t ruin baseball overnight, but the biggest factor no one talks about is their 2011 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

This led to terms and settlements tied to how the league would treat the Dodgers’ local TV money for revenue-sharing purposes. Then came the massive Time Warner Cable deal that created SportsNet LA, an $8.35 billion contract that escalates over time through 2038.

Under the typical revenue-sharing formula, local TV income is pooled and shared among teams. However, due to prior settlements, the Dodgers’ deal caps their shareable amount, allowing them to keep more net TV revenue than other clubs.

The Dodgers earn over $300 million annually from SportsNet LA, while the Milwaukee Brewers would make around $35 million.

So when people tell me the Dodgers’ success is just good leadership, I don’t fully buy it.

Yes, the front office and farm system are strong, but they’ve had a long financial head start. Add deferrals and star hunting, and the playing field isn’t even fair anymore.

I don’t blame players for taking the money. If someone offers you security, you take it. I also do not blame Dodgers fans for enjoying it. Every fan wants their team to act like it wants to win.

The problem is MLB is letting one team turn winning into an assembly line, then acting surprised when everyone starts calling the league unfair.

Baseball shouldn’t punish ambition but must protect belief. It works best when April feels wide open and fanbases see their teams win in October.

If this continues, the biggest disappointment won’t be the Dodgers’ dominance but rather the rest of MLB losing its passion and no longer caring.