The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the few teams around the league where money isn’t an issue, but there is a price the defending champions will have to pay this offseason.
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The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon explained how the Dodgers have been penalized this winter for exceeding the base luxury-tax threshold for several years and what that means for LA’s pursuit of big name free agents such as star outfielder Kyle Tucker.
“Any team that exceeds the base luxury-tax threshold for three or more consecutive years pays a 50 percent penalty for every dollar it goes above,” Rosenthal and Sammon wrote. “Any team that exceeds the base threshold by $60 million or more pays an additional 60 percent surcharge.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers qualify on both counts, so their penalty for signing Tucker or any of the other remaining free agents would be 110 percent. At a $40 million AAV, Tucker would cost them $84 million. At a $35 million AAV, the number would be a mere $73.5 million.”
The Dodgers don’t seem to mind paying more than double the price for big name free agents because the front office already snagged baseball’s best closer. The Dodgers signed closer Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69 million deal.
Diaz, who is set to earn $21.1 million per year after deferrals, will actually cost the Dodgers a total of $44.3 million annually. Therefore, it appears the defending champions won’t let the 110 percent penalty price deter the organization from improving over the winter.
In November, Dodgers owner Mark Walter made it clear the team was focused on returning to the Fall Classic in 2026.
“All I have to say to you is, we’ll be back next year,” Walter said during the Dodgers’ World Series celebration at Dodger Stadium.
Walter quite literally put his money where his mouth is as the Dodgers landed Diaz without wincing at the ridiculous price tag. Could the Dodgers make one more big move before the season begins?
LA has been linked to two of the biggest names on the free agent market in star outfielder Kyle Tucker and star infielder Bo Bichette. The Toronto Blue Jays are considered the favorite to land Tucker, but if they fall out of the race, the outfielder could very well end up donning Dodger blue by 2026.
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