Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Los Angeles is Not Focused on Cutting Their $254 Million Payroll in 2021

The Dodgers signings of Justin Turner and Trevor Bauer put them in unfamiliar territory. For the first time since 2015, they will be over the $250 million mark in payroll by the time Opening Day rolls around. 

That is assuming that they don’t make any more moves. The Dodgers could look at the luxury tax implications and decide that they need to shed around $5 million to get under the stiffest penalty allowed by MLB. 



But from the sounds of it, Andrew Friedman has no intentions of doing that. The Dodgers President of Baseball Operations spoke with the media on Friday morning and reiterated that his main priority this year is to defend the World Series title. 

Our primary focus is on doing everything we can to defend our title…where we are right now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this is where we finished this year.

Generally speaking, teams that win a World Series don’t feel as inclined to spend money immediately after a championship. With the pressure off, front offices have a tendency to pull back a little at times. For the Dodgers and Andrew Friedman, that is the complete opposite of their plan of attack. 

Dodgers Related: Roberts Praise for Bauer’s Baseball Access

The Dodgers have done several things throughout the course of this offseason to make them a better team now and in the future. They’ve obviously signed and traded for the immediate talent that will help them on their path to the World Series this year. But they have also moved around pieces to get back prospect depth that will help in the long-term. 

The fact that the Dodgers are willing to spend money fresh off of a championship should be a good sign for fans. They want to keep winning, and they proved that with over $150 million in commitments this offseason. 

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Dodgers: Dave Roberts Praises Trevor Bauer for Giving Fans More Access to Baseball

8 Comments

  1. For years we grumbled that Friedman was forever a Ray, incapable of “punching up.” He showed us last year with Betts and now this year with Bauer that we were wrong. If the Dodgers don’t repeat, it won’t be because of anything the FO didn’t do.

    1. I concur. But what may hinder Dodgers chances for a WS is if Bellingere remains hindered from his shoulder surgery and no DH with the pitcher having to bat that can have an affect on bottom part of lineup. Turner sits if not starting at 3rd on a given day and when Barnes catches, will Smith sits instead of batting 5th as the DH.

  2. Hopefully us fans will be able to attend games at dodger stadium to show our appreciation.

  3. Anyone who thinks they know what AF is, or is not, going to do, doesn’t know AF. He flies under everyone’s radar. And it’s hard to argue with the results.

  4. This team is worth every penny spent this year and with the key free agents (Seager, Bellinger and Beuhler) coming up in the next few seasons we’ll need to spend what it takes to keep the nucleus of this power house dynasty together for years to come. I mean we currently have 3 Cy Young winners in our staring rotation and a young stud flame thrower just primed to make it 4. We also have 2 MVP’s in the line up (Betts & Bellinger) for now and you can make that 3 when Seager gets his and he is primed to do so. Oh and when Kershaw pitches you can make it 4 in the starting lineup. Good job Friedman, you are the GM MVP for sure. Great job! Now keep it up and get it done with the home grown studs that we all love (Seager, Bellinger & Buehler) there is not one fan that will be happy if we lose any of those 3, scratch that make it 4 Smith is a home grown stud as well. These Super 4 with Betts will keep the Dodgers favored for years to come. I love the moves you have made, you are a genius. But please don’t let this very special group of young homegrown phenom slip away. They should be Dodgers for life.

    GO DODGERS,
    Philip
    PS there is one that I hope you do let slip away no matter what kind of success we have this season. And his name is Robert’s. Please make this his final season, bring in Sophia that would be awesome. But seriously, the Dodgers have been successful during Robert’s tenure but that success came despite their manager. There have been multiple occasions where I thought Robert’s was working for the other team. He has made some decisions at some very crucial moments that had to make the opposition smile and Dodger fans scream in agony. I know that I have been frustrated, pissed off and wanting his blood at some of the stupid decisions he has made. I’m not going to get into the dumb ass decisions that he has made over the years because any true knowledgeable baseball person knows what I’m talking about. But I will just point out 2 of his most recent genius moves. For years the Dodgers have been in need of a true lead off hitter and our MVP GM not only gets us a leadoff hitter but he gets us the best leadoff hitter the MLB has seen in a long time. When Betts arrives at Dodger Stadium he makes a comment as if he already knew that Roberts would screw it up if he didn’t. He stated ” I just want to play right field and bat leadoff and nothing else”. So what does Robert’s do? On opening day last year, he bats Muncy leadoff and Betts 2nd. Give me a freaking break. He kept it that way for maybe 7 out of 10 games enough to make me yell at the TV or news paper which ever brought me the news of his stupid thought process. And the other thing that drives me crazy is how the man messes with Bellinger year after year. Lets see Bellinger wins rookie of the year breaking the NL rookie homerun record. So Robert’s has the genius idea that Bellinger should only hit against righties because why, I don’t know. But Bellinger was man enough to put his foot down in his third year and told Robert’s that he is playing everyday. The results were MVP numbers including 49 homeruns. He also hit more homeruns off of lefties then anyone in baseball. So Robert’s being the genius that he is decides to drop Bellinger from the cleanup spot to 6th in the lineup last. Yes Bellinger was struggling in the batting average area but his power numbers where compatible with any of the top power players. Bellinger is the Dodgers clean up man and that is obvious, dropping in the order cost the Dodgers some runs in the playoffs for sure. Instead of coming up with runners on base Bellinger was leading off with nobody one quite often. Plus it doesn’t help a guys ego when you drop him in the order for struggling. It says that you have no confidence in him instead. Wrong I have all the confidence in the world in Bellinger, put him in the clean up spot and leave him alone please. Let him have another MVP won’t you?

  5. Roberts costs the Dodgers a few wins per year based upon his decisions, especially the use of relievers. Not having Baez will save a loss or two, this year, however. The players generally seem to tolerate him, at least so long as they are getting into the playoffs. Without Roberts they would have the highest win total for the past several years in MLB. But they have done that anyway. I believe that under his regime they have won 436 regular-season games and his winning percentage is .614 since becoming manager for the 2016 season. The next two teams, I believe, are the Cheatos, 424 wins, and the Yankees, 411 wins during that time period. Roberts’ winning percentage is .614, which puts him second all-time with only Joe McCarty slightly (.001) better. Still, the Dodgers could use Billy Martin.

    1. Roberts wins the Dodgers a few games per year based upon his decisions, especially the use of relievers. Last year all the way to the WS Championship. The players do not tolerate Doc – they love him!

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