Rob Manfred Defends Dodgers, Says LA Isn’t Ruining Baseball
Are the Los Angeles Dodgers ruining baseball? It’s a simple question with a straight answer, according to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
“No,” Manfred said, via The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. “I don’t agree with that. The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization. Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives.
“I recognize, however, and my email certainly reflects it: There are fans in other markets who are concerned about their teams’ ability to compete, and we always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers, not in that camp.”
The World Series champion Dodgers were anything but idle this winter, signing some of the top players in this year’s free agent class. While other clubs have yet to make a blockbuster deal, the Dodgers have inked multiple deals with some of baseball’s brightest stars.
Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow could only compare the Dodgers 2025 roster to superheroes.
“It’s like the Avengers,” Glasnow said. “It’s the best team I’ve ever been on.”
While Glasnow believes the Dodgers could be baseball’s mightiest heroes, the rest of the sport doesn’t feel as elated. But what the defending champions have accomplished throughout the offseason was in no way cheating.
What many fans fail to realize is the unpredictability of baseball. Though the Dodgers certainly have all the right pieces to return to the 2025 Fall Classic, there is no guarantee the defending champions will play in the final days of October.
Oddsmakers place the Dodgers’ chances of winning the World Series at a mere 25 percent. Many baseball fans have misplaced their anger toward the defending champions, rather than those who are responsible.
The Dodgers are not the only team that can use deferrals. The Dodgers are not the only team that can make blockbuster deals. But many owners choose to pocket revenue, rather than invest in the product on the field.
“I don’t look at us as villains,” said starting pitcher Blake Snell, who headlined the Dodgers’ offseason. “I look at us as a team that wants to win. If any other teams or fan bases want to get upset, you know what to do. Follow what the Dodgers do.”
Photo Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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