The Dodgers’ Lesson Of “The Best Team Money Can Buy”
Off it, putting too many high priced players in the same clubhouse who consider themselves starters or even stars raises the risk of chemistry conflicts to the moon. Inevitably, an aging-but-still-expensive player’s performance no longer merits as much playing time, a particular position defensively, or preferred spot in the lineup.
Making changes, though, is hard. Benching millions of dollars bruises egos. Declining players are hard to trade without eating significant money, which at some point hamstrings roster and payroll flexibility.
Every young, cost controlled player with real Major League prospects leaving the organization creates a greater dependence on a free agent to fill that space. Fewer prospects mean fewer offseason trade possibilities, increasing the dependence on free agents to fill needs.
The cycle perpetuates itself. Pay more for the right to pull players from a thinning pool of available talent. Eventually, the whole thing collapses.
Sounds fun.
These are obviously the scenarios from which the Dodgers have been working diligently to extricate themselves over the last year or two, with some progress. The problems of free agency bloat aren’t unique to them, though. The Yankees suffered after growing too star-driven, carrying a payroll not supported by performance.
The only way to truly break the cycle is to get off the treadmill. The only way to get off the treadmill is to build a system allowing holes to be filled from within (or in trading young players for other young players), which means limiting how many prospects go out the door for short term fixes during stretch runs.
Without question, the Dodgers can afford the luxury of paying (and periodically overpaying) for the best possible talent, but being The Best Team Money Can Buy isn’t a matter of Major League payroll, but an elite infrastructure.
Having the best international scouting program, Minor League system, coaches, medical staff, and facilities, then finding the best, smartest people to run the operation. It’s why Mark Walter and crew brought in Andrew Friedman, viewed by many as baseball’s best brain, to create a top-to-bottom organizational structure founded on sound principles turbo boosted by as close to an open checkbook as the sports world provides.
This is the template Stan Kasten has pushed, and one reason the Dodgers have stated they won’t be shelling out in the mid-to-high $200 millions for current and former players forever.
So with less than a week before Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline and their lead in the NL West down to a game over San Francisco heading into play Monday, two of the team’s key organizational directives (“Build a deep farm system capable of feeding and sustaining successful teams year after year,” and “Win a World Series, like, right bleeping now”) are in opposition.
CONTINUE READING: Dodgers’ Difficulty In Addressing Their Rotation Issues
