The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t shy about spending money.
Just one offseason after spending over a billion dollars on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they have once again broken the bank this offseason by landing Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and Roki Sasaki and re-signing Teoscar Hernandez.
The Cleveland Guardians were just a few wins away from facing the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series, and they headed into this offseason with some very clear needs.
However, once again, Guardians’ ownership has not spent adequately to keep up with the big-market teams at the top of the payroll rankings.
Things have always been this way, but a recent report showed just how wide the gap now is between the Dodgers and everybody else, as LA now has nearly as much deferred money as the Guardians’ entire franchise valuation.
More For You Cleveland shared on X that the Dodgers have slightly over $1 billion in deferred money after signing reliever Tanner Scott on Sunday, which is just shy of the Guardians’ $1.35 billion franchise valuation, according to Forbes.
The Dodgers have almost as much deferred money (slightly over $1B) as the #Guardians entire franchise valuation (1.35B per Forbes).
But yes the issue is small markets just need to spend more lol. Way deeper issue with the sport
— MoreForYouCleveland (@MoreForYou_CLE) January 17, 2025
More For You Cleveland also said this is a “way deeper issue with the sport” other than the idea that smaller markets simply need to spend more money.
The Dodgers have had a field day deferring a lot of money over the past two offseasons, and other teams will certainly try to replicate this practice or discuss it heavily in the next CBA.
Regardless, there is no excuse for a team like the Guardians to continue not spending money when their owners have a higher net worth than the Dodgers’ ownership group.
Both things can be true.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Sign Free Agent Pitcher
