Everyone Talking About The Dodgers 'Ruining Baseball' Seems To Have Stopped

Are we done yet? Are we done acting as though Major League Baseball is a formula that can be cracked exclusively with money? Because if not, the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers season should put the nail in that particular coffin.

Prior to the start of the season, conversation around baseball, particularly among fans, was that the Dodgers had broken the sport. They won the 2024 World Series, and instead of sitting back to let other teams catch up, they added more talent. And they did so by spending money to sign talented players, a concept that is both foreign and abhorrent to most owners and organizations.

The wailing and gnashing of teeth from around the game was endless. "Baseball is so dead," was a common refrain. Rob Manfred used their spending to launch his campaign for a salary cap, long one of ownership's top priorities. 

"If it weren't for fantasy and betting, I'd have zero interest in MLB this year," said baseball writer Frank Ammirante. "Dodgers are ruining baseball."

ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote in January that people were "livid" that the Dodgers had tried to improve their roster. "Belief in baseball's fairness is waning because the Dodgers have gotten so good, so fast."

"The Dodgers are pretty much ruining baseball," another popular baseball-focused account posted.

This is just a small sampling of the many, many, many outlandish posts complaining about LA's desire to build the best possible roster. It got to the point that pitcher Jack Flaherty, who had been traded to the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline and had remained unsigned in free agency himself, addressed it on X, saying: "A certain team is not ruining baseball. A lot of other teams are just doing very little."

Well, we're approaching the last month of the 2025 season, and all the commentary and complaints have suddenly stopped. Why? Because through nearly 120 games, we've learned that the Dodgers aren't actually that good. Whoops!

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) stands at the mound in the first inning between Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on July 30, 2025.

Baseball Can't Be ‘Ruined’ By One Team

Entering Tuesday afternoon, the Dodgers' lead in the National League West had dwindled down to just one game over the San Diego Padres. They've been unable to stay within even shouting distance of the number one seed in the National League, falling a whopping 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. A deficit made even more difficult by the fact that Milwaukee swept the Dodgers in their season series, despite a huge disparity in payroll.

They're currently not even the second seed in the National League, falling a game and a half behind the Philadelphia Phillies in that race too.

So for all the preseason criticism, the "baseball is dead," the "baseball isn't worth watching," the "Dodgers are ruining the sport," with time running out on the season, Los Angeles currently sits in third place in the NL. Instead of running away with the number one seed and a postseason bye, or challenging the best regular season record ever, they're staring down the prospect of hosting a best-of-three Wild Card series. And that's assuming they don't get passed by the Padres, who they play six times in the next week and a half.

Those upstart Padres, by the way, have routinely run one of baseball's highest payrolls, like in 2023 when they outspent the Dodgers by over $21 million. Though naturally, the Padres have received little criticism for it, instead often receiving praise for thoroughly obliterating the consistent hysterical weeping from other small-market owners that they simply can't afford to spend. 

Dodgers Show You Can't Predict Baseball

How did we get here? Simple: several Dodgers have underperformed their talent level, their signings have generally flopped, and they've shown a propensity for blowing close games. This isn't unusual or even particularly surprising, it's part of baseball. And it's why the incessant whining in the offseason was so ridiculous and absurd.

Revisiting the list of LA's major offseason acquisitions that created the meltdown is a comedy of errors.

Michael Conforto, signed for $17 million, is having the worst season of his career. Per Fangraphs, he's been worth -0.4 wins above replacement, thanks to a .189 batting average and .330 slugging percentage. He's actually been cost the Dodgers -9 runs of offense thus far. For $17 million.

Then there's Tanner Scott, signed for $72 million after putting up several consecutive seasons of elite relief pitching. Just one year removed from a 1.75 ERA in 2024, this season his ERA has jumped to 4.14. His strikeout rate has dropped, his hard-hit rate is up…oh, and he leads baseball in blown saves. Scott's also on the injured list with elbow inflammation, which can often be a precursor to Tommy John surgery.

Kirby Yates joined the bullpen after an elite season in Texas, signing for $13 million. His 2024 was exceptional: a 1.17 ERA, one of baseball's best, a minuscule batting average on balls in play, and limited hard contact. This year in LA? His ERA has ballooned to 4.31. He's already allowed six home runs after just three in 2024, and has given up 29 hits in 31 innings compared to 23 hits in 61.2 innings last year. Yates is also currently on the injured list.

Blake Snell has missed most of the season with an arm injury, making just four starts with 19 innings pitched. For his $31 million salary (with some deferred), he's added 0.3 wins above replacement this year.

How about Roki Sasaki? 

Sasaki was the signing that sent a number of fans over the edge. One of the most highly touted pitching prospects to come out of Japan, Sasaki chose to sign with the Dodgers, joining Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto after a lengthy decision-making process. He was expected to bring 100mph fastballs and the world's best splitter to MLB, providing ace-level production on a rookie-level salary.

Yeah, that hasn't happened either. In just eight starts with 34.1 innings pitched, Sasaki has been, well bad. In fact, bad is a dramatic understatement. Terrible is more accurate. Just 24 strikeouts, with an incredible 51 baserunners allowed, including 22 walks. He, too, has actually cost the Dodgers production, with -0.1 WAR to show for the preseason hype. His fastball velocity, once one of his key strengths, dropped to an average of "just" 96.3mph and became one of the worst individual pitches in the sport. Then he too got hurt, and has missed over three months with a shoulder impingement. Sounds about right for the 2025 Dodgers.

It's not just the signings. Mookie Betts is having by far the worst offensive season of his career. Top prospects Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland have had disappointing offensive debuts. Evan Phillips went down with Tommy John surgery. Michael Kopech has barely pitched. Brusdar Graterol has yet to make his season debut. Blake Treinen has missed most of the year with injuries, then soon after returning, gave up back-to-back home runs to blow a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Tyler Glasnow has pitched just 52.2 innings after going down with an injury himself.

Speaking of that Blue Jays game, the Dodgers' offense in their 5-4 Sunday loss was historically inept. LA racked up 23 baserunners in nine innings, including a remarkable 13 walks. They left 16 runners on base en route to somehow scoring just four runs. It was the first time in franchise history that they'd had at least 10 hits and 10 walks and scored fewer than five runs. The Dodgers organization has existed for 142 years, with over 21,600 games played and counting. This year's team just set a record for offensive futility. Oh, and in the bottom of the ninth, needing just a run to tie, Shohei Ohtani came up with the bases loaded and one out, Mookie Betts on deck. Ohtani struck out on what would have been ball four, and Betts grounded out to third to end the game. A microcosm of the season.

Overall, the bullpen has been atrocious, allowing 66 home runs, the third most in baseball behind the Angels and historically bad Colorado Rockies. The injuries and poor replacement starting pitching have contributed to the Dodgers relying on that bad, injury-riddled bullpen to pitch more innings than any other team.

Again, none of this is too surprising. Snell and Glasnow have lengthy injury histories. Relief pitching is notoriously unreliable and inconsistent. Sasaki's velocity had declined in Japan, and the transition to a tougher league with a different baseball and routine has often proved difficult. Mookie Betts is now 32 and playing a more physically demanding position, having moved to shortstop from right field in the offseason. 

So what's the takeaway here? 

Well, baseball is not predictable. Nobody thought the Brewers would be 25-5 in their last 30 games, 38-12 in their last 50 and 44-16 in their last 60 with an exceptionally mediocre roster. Pitching injuries can derail the best-laid plans. Randomness, luck, and chance play a much bigger role in outcomes than most fans like to admit. Free agency sometimes works, and sometimes it doesn't. There's an old cliché in MLB, "that's why they play the games." Turns out that it's pretty darn accurate.