The Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup in action against the San Diego Padres, CCed by Liscense 2.0
The Los Angeles Dodgers have changed the game of baseball. They have proven to the world that they have no real limit on who they will sign and for how much money. Last offseason, we saw them sign Shohei Ohtani, arguably one of the most talented players of all time, to a 10-year deal. This move started the cascade of signings that led to the Dodgers winning the 2024 World Series without much pushback from the New York Yankees.
The real issue with the Ohtani contract, in the eyes of baseball fans at least, was the insane amount of deferred money that was involved. Instead of the $70 million his contract demanded from an AAV perspective, the Japanese star would make $2 million per year from 2024-2034 and then $68 million per year for the next 10 years after that. This move allowed LA to commit more money during the 2024 season and beyond with the goal of winning as many championships in the next 10 years as possible. In total, $680 million of Ohtani’s contract will be off the books until 2035.
There was immediate outcry from baseball fans about this structure, but this is hardly the first time deferred money has been used in contracts for MLB talent. However, what would happen in the 2025 offseason with deferrals would be something that no MLB team has done before. The amount of deferred money is a jaw-dropping $1.2365 billion. Outside of Ohtani’s $680 million contribution, there is Blake Snell’s $65 million, Mookie Betts’ $115 million, Freddie Freeman’s $57 million, Will Smith’s $50 million, Teoscar Hernandez’s $23.5 million, Tommy Edman’s $25 million and lastly and most recently Tanner Scott’s $21 million.
The way these signings have developed over the course of these two offseasons has felt strange for baseball as a sport. Obviously, no team has dared to take on this much deferred money in history, so the change is going to be unwelcomed at first. Twitter user @BallParkBuzz discovered that the Dodgers have deferred more money with the players on their roster than the Tampa Bay Rays have spent in the last 11 seasons combined. When seeing things like this comparison of money, what the Dodgers are doing simply feels wrong to me.
However, it is frustrating to say that this franchise is technically not doing anything wrong. What they are doing is allowed by all available rules and regulations in place by the league and player’s association. It feels like they have started a cult down in LA, recruiting the best talent and getting them on board with their deferred payment plans. It has allowed them to assemble one of the most insane baseball rosters of all time heading into 2025, which is extra frustrating considering they just won the World Series with a significantly less-talented group.
The main argument for the Dodgers is that every team’s ownership group can be doing the exact same thing and offering players the same type of deferred money in order to build a championship team. While this is true, this whole situation was out of the rest of the 29 owners’ control the moment that Ohatni chose to sign with the Dodgers. If you were a player, wouldn’t you take less money in the short term to be a part of one of the most talented teams of all time? Shohei Ohtani’s influence is something that has no price tag attached to it. He was able to attract another Japanese superstar in Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason, and just did it again last week when Roki Sasaki announced he was signing with the Dodgers. So the argument that every team can be doing things like this is partly true, but there is only one team that has Shohei Ohtani.
The main feeling, I assume, most fan bases are feeling when it comes to what the Dodgers have been able to build is jealousy. Of course every team wants to have what the Dodgers have. Every team wants a stacked roster with no holes and depth that makes the Grand Canyon look shallow. But it really is the product of something incredible in the front office for LA that made this a reality. If a starting rotation of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell and one of Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, or Tony Gonsolin was a part of your favorite team, do you think you would be thinking about the amount of deferred money? If the Dodgers can win even just two or three more championships in the next 10 years, this little scheme they are running will have been extremely successful.
The one thing that brings this Giants fan comfort with this is that the baseball still has to be played. There are still 162 games that will be played by every team in 2025, and absolutely anything can happen during the course of those games. I am choosing not to think about the fact that the Dodgers still had enough firepower to win a World Series with essentially zero starting pitching, but the point still remains. It would be the highlight of the 2025 season to see the Dodgers go out in the NLDS, but that may be even more difficult to do with the current state of this team. One thing is for sure, the rest of MLB has to get even more used to the Dodgers winning the NL West every season.
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