Dodgers Spending Is Good For Baseball, Former Player Says

The Los Angeles Dodgers have money. A lot of money. And unlike a number of other teams, they use it to try and build the best possible roster.

This offseason demonstrated that commitment to spending, and winning, with LA adding Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott and Roki Sasaki in free agency. Fans were furious, instead believing the Dodgers should have stopped trying to win after breaking through in the 2024 World Series.

But while fans aren't happy, players across the sport see it for what it is: good for baseball. 

During an interview with "Foul Territory," former reliever Andrew Miller was asked about LA and its spending, and not only defended it, but said he believes it's good for players. 

"Do the players have a reaction to the Dodgers stuff?"

"….When teams sign players, that's good for players, that's good for the game," Miller said. "As a fan, you want to see when you open the paper, open up the blog every morning, that your team is in on this player, your team is trying to improve, your team thinks they can go out and get this piece to make them a World Series contender. To take them from getting in the playoffs to winning the playoffs, I think that is good for baseball. That is interesting, I mean, we love having good offseasons. The fact that you can take a bunch of teams out of the factor immediately, because their GM or their president or their owner is saying, ‘hey we're not just going to do it this year,' that's bad for baseball. 

"So the Dodgers going out and signing guys is great. Maybe not everybody can sign the Ohtani deal, I don't know. Maybe it's possible, maybe they don't think they can work a whole team around that. But everybody can sign Kirby Yates. Everybody can use Kirby Yates in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning of a playoff series and be better for it. 

"I don't think that they have any huge advantage in the sense that they're doing something nobody else can do, everybody can go out and compete if they'd like, just like the Dodgers."

Mar 18, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, JPN; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after hitting a double in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs during the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Players Get It With Dodgers Spending, Fans Should Too

Other players around the league are happy with the Dodgers signing free agents, because a rising tide lifts all boats. The more free agents that sign big dollar deals, the more others will too. 

And Miller is right; maybe not every team can sign players to $350 million+ contracts. But they could easily sign Kirby Yates, who was arguably the best reliever in the sport in 2024, to a one-year deal to bolster their bullpen and give themselves a better chance to win in October. 

But only the Dodgers apparently cared enough to do it. 

That's the issue; too many owners view their teams as a profit vehicle. Something they use to increase their net worth, prestige and yearly incomes. The Dodgers, while still making a profit, view their mandate as trying to build the best possible team year in and year out. 

It doesn't always lead to a World Series, because that's not how baseball works. But it sure doesn't hurt. And in an entertainment-based industry, the team's owners and front office staff know that giving fans the best possible entertainment for six months it a smart business strategy. 

Maybe some other teams will figure that out at some point. But given fans will always inexplicably prefer allowing billionaires to be cheap rather than trying to win, probably not.