Mike Trout, the player with the most significant contract in baseball, does not play for the Dodgers. Neither does Bryce Harper, who has the second-biggest contract, nor Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, etc., etc. In fact, the biggest financial obligations that the Dodgers have for any individual players are Clayton Kershaw's $46.8 million for 2020 and 2021, and the $48 million they took of David Price's contract to make the deal for Mookie Betts. (Price has since elected to opt out of the 2020 season.)
The Dodgers haven't and won't announce the details of Andrew Friedman's new contract, but based on his last deal and industry precedent, it's likely that the Dodgers owe more money, as of this morning, to their head of baseball operations than to almost anybody in uniform.
But it would be misleading to say the Dodgers haven't spent big money, or aren't going to spend. Since Frank McCourt agreed to sell the franchise to the group headed by Guggenheim, L.A. has consistently had one of the largest -- if not the largest -- payrolls in the majors.
2013: $220 million (2nd)
2014: $209 million (1st)
2015: $272 million (1st)
2016: $254 million (1st)
2017: $226 million (1st)
2018: $191 million (3rd)
2019: $197 million (4th)
The Dodgers' investments have paid off, with seven consecutive National League West championships and an average of about 96 wins -- more than 1,000 games of dominance. Their average margin in winning the West has been about nine games, and if you ask a lot of evaluators with other teams, they will tell you that the Dodgers have the best players, by far, and the most efficient organization.
But as every Dodgers fan and every Dodgers player is well aware, the team still hangs on the memory of Kirk Gibson's miracle home run in 1988 because L.A. hasn't won the World Series since. Just one championship would change the perception of what the Dodgers have accomplished since Friedman took over, and they've come so very close -- falling in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series to the Astros, who have been hammered with penalties for illicit sign stealing, and losing to the Red Sox in '18, a team that had its own cheating scandal. They began the NL playoffs last fall as the favorites, but were beaten by the eventual champion Nationals in the divisional round.
They've worked to find the finishing pieces, whether it be the addition of the best available starting pitcher in the 2017 summer market (Yu Darvish) or the best position player before the 2018 trade deadline (Manny Machado).
The perception of a lot of Dodgers fans is that they haven't gone all-in. Bill Plaschke wrote about this last winter, and spoke with club president Stan Kasten about it, and the biggest reason for that feeling is that under Friedman, they haven't grabbed one of the mega-contract players. The most expensive players have landed elsewhere.
And you know what? That's been a good thing for the Dodgers.
When Zack Greinke was a free agent, the Diamondbacks outbid L.A. by adding an extra year to their offer. At the time, I was critical of the Dodgers for not getting it done, for letting Greinke walk over a relative pittance. And you know what? I was wrong. Greinke has been a good pitcher since then, sometimes better than good, but his contract weighed on the Diamondbacks' payroll to the degree that they had to work to move his money -- with almost no takers, until the Astros stepped up in August.
When the Marlins dangled Stanton -- a player with a full no-trade clause and reportedly a preference to play for the Dodgers -- many executives with other teams assumed L.A. would take the Miami handout and add the NL MVP. I wrote at the time I thought it would be the right move. But the Dodgers passed, out of concern for the length of Stanton's deal; they seemed to like the player, but not his contract. And you know what? That turned out to be the right decision, just as they were smart to go after Harper with a measured, short-term offer but nothing more.
The Dodgers wanted to spend big this winter and were involved in the conversations with Cole and Rendon before being outbid.
But the Dodgers have made other savvy decisions and avoided the big mistakes, and have built a lot of depth, like with the deal they made for Betts. They could be a natural landing spot for Francisco Lindor, if the Indians try to move him this summer.
Whatever form that next big deal takes, it will augment a team that's already stacked with perhaps the best young core in baseball -- Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Corey Seager, Will Smith and others. The Dodgers won the NL West by 21 games last season, and while the Diamondbacks and Padres should be better, that is a mountainous deficit for Arizona and San Diego to overcome.
Fans and media aren't necessarily conditioned to patience. Under Friedman, they've been great every year, and they've earned the benefit of the doubt.
The Dodgers are among MLB's top 10 teams in 2020. Here's the rundown:
The Dodgers have a chip on their shoulder and a roster built to win now. Alden Gonzalez chronicles why Los Angeles believes this could be its year.
1. New York Yankees
An overpowering offense. A dominant bullpen. An ownership that is all-in for 2020 and probably will be willing to add any and all necessary pieces at the trade deadline. And, of course, Gerrit Cole at the front of a rotation that should be solid. On paper, the Yankees are as complete a team as baseball has seen in the past couple of decades.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers' greatest challenge might be reloading emotionally. After losing the World Series in 2017 and 2018, they seemed to ramp up their collective effort, locking down on mistakes and bulldozing the National League -- and once again, they went home devastated after being shocked by the Nationals. Until Howie Kendrick clubbed a grand slam in Game 5 of the division series, it probably never occurred to the Dodgers that they wouldn't find a way.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays came within one game of advancing to the American League Championship Series last fall -- and that was without either Blake Snell or Tyler Glasnow fully functional -- and after the series, Astros players talked with great respect about the excellence of Tampa Bay. Its bullpen is outstanding, with a wide range of weapons, and if Snell, Glasnow and Charlie Morton stay healthy, the front three in the Rays' rotation can match up with any other. Tampa Bay has a good defense, upgraded through the addition of Hunter Renfroe, and what should be a decent offense. The Yankees will probably overpower the Rays over the 60 games of the regular season, but Tampa Bay will be a team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
4. Houston Astros
Without Cole, Houston's rotation looks very different, and as the summer camp continues, the Astros have to hope that Justin Verlander is able to come all the way back from spring-training surgery. The Astros should hit enough to override a lot of their rotation concerns, but they appear more vulnerable than they have been in years.
5. Washington Nationals
It was as if Washington took all of the money earmarked for a possible deal with Rendon and bought a bunch of usable pieces (Will Harris, Starlin Castro, Daniel Hudson, Asdrubal Cabrera, Eric Thames). Manager Dave Martinez should have a better bullpen and could play a lot of various matchups with infielders. But the Nationals' effort to become the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to repeat as champions will inevitably come down to the production of their big three -- Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. If those guys stay healthy, then sure, Washington could win its division and be a formidable October force.
6. Oakland Athletics
Oakland doesn't usually field stars, but the Athletics have elite players at first base, shortstop, third base, center field, designated hitter and in their bullpen -- and with the Astros losing Cole, there could be a window of opportunity for the A's. Two years ago, Oakland pieced together a great bullpen, and last year, the Athletics got surprising contributions from their rotation. They'll need youngsters like Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk to pitch in this year to overtake Houston.
7. Atlanta Braves
The departure of Josh Donaldson, a key part of their 2019 lineup, will hurt the offense. But the Braves are confident that between the continued growth of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies and a young, developing rotation, the team could continue to improve. The X-factor is outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who was signed after Donaldson walked away. The Nationals are the reigning World Series champions, but the Braves have won the NL East the past two years, winning 97 games in 2019.
8. St. Louis Cardinals
If the Dodgers are the most likely NL team to make a big move before the Aug. 31 trade deadline, St. Louis might the second-most likely, given the franchise's financial stability and the market opportunities that will become apparent. Jack Flaherty is cemented as one of the league's best pitchers.
9. Minnesota Twins
The rotation has a lot of uncertainty, but the Twins are going to hit and they should have a high-end bullpen. In the American League Central, that might be enough.
10. New York Mets
The Mets are into a period of ownership transition and there are unknowns with that, and it's hard to know what Robinson Cano will contribute, in what will be his age-37 season. But as one evaluator noted recently, they've got a lot of really good players in the big leagues, with Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso and others. They desperately need a bounce-back season from Edwin Diaz or Dellin Betances, and if both can do that, the Mets might go from having one of the worst bullpens to fielding one of the best.
Best of the rest
Indians: Cleveland still has Francisco Lindor, a loaded rotation and manager Terry Francona to pull it all together -- and a third of their schedule, in a shortened season, is against the Tigers and Royals.
Brewers: They've got Christian Yelich, Josh Hader and a knack for piecing together starting pitching. Maybe that'll be enough, but it does stand to reason that they'll be one of the clubs most affected by the new three-batter-minimum rule.
Cubs: They've got a lot of really good players and could be energized under new manager David Ross, but the key for Chicago will be Yu Darvish, who has to lead the rotation because the Cubs just can't rely on Jon Lester or Jose Quintana to be frontline guys.
Diamondbacks: Arizona's front office has greatly impressed rivals with the way it dealt with the most difficult payroll questions -- Paul Goldschmidt, and then Greinke -- while adding talent and remaining competitive rather than tanking. Arizona has won 93, 82 and 85 games the past three seasons and will be the team most likely to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West.
White Sox: They are better, unquestionably, after adding Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and Edwin Encarnacion, and re-signing Jose Abreu. But remember, they finished 28½ games behind Minnesota last year, and will need another big year from Lucas Giolito, especially with Michael Kopech's decision to opt out of the season.