Dodgers Team News

Cardinals Pitcher Calls Out Dodgers for Playing ‘Checkbook Baseball’

The Los Angeles Dodgers are public enemy number one as we approach the 2024 MLB season. Although the Texas Rangers are the defending champions, every MLB team will aim to take down the Dodgers this year.

Just ask St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher, Miles Mikolas. Mikolas said he can’t wait to ‘stick it’ to the Dodgers to start the season and called out the Boys in Blue for playing “checkbook baseball.”



St. Louis is scheduled to take on the Dodgers in their home opening series at the end of the month.

Entering the season, the Dodgers have the ninth-highest payroll in the league, according to Spotrac. The Cardinals are right behind the Dodgers with the tenth-highest payroll. So please, make it make sense.

Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts said that every game Los Angeles plays will be the other team’s World Series and he wasn’t lying when. Mikolas’s comments show that fact.

Everyone has the Dodgers circled on their calendar because of the team they built and how they make it happen. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani signed a record-breaking ten-year, $700 million contract; however, most of the contract is deferred, meaning more than 97% of his earnings are delayed until after his deal with the Dodgers expires.

Because of this, the front office has been given so much leeway, and they were able to stay aggressive in free agency, which allowed them to sign the second-best free agent on the market, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Nobody outside of the Dodgers is happy with the way L.A. constructed their roster, but they simply are trying to win.

Mikolas is just one of the many players in the league who are not happy with the Boys in Blue, but it’s all outside noise. The Dodgers will focus on capturing title number eight this season, while other MLB teams will hope the highlight of their season is beating Los Angeles.

There are levels to this, and the Cardinals will be one small obstacle in the way of a bigger goal in mind. That is unless the Dodgers face them in October, which is an entirely different discussion in itself.

Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

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Ricardo Sandoval

Born and Raised in the East side of Los Angeles. Ricardo is a staff writer at Dodgers Nation and on the LA Sports Report network of sites. He's also a lifelong Dodgers and Lakers fan. Ricardo is an alumnus of CSUN (Go Matadors).

8 Comments

  1. “Hard-working Midwestern farmers”—pretty funny from a guy with a $55+ million contract.

  2. Hasn’t had a winning season since 2018, making almost 20M a year and he’s whining. Sounds like he deserves to play in the Midwest.

  3. In our last post, we said other teams, pitchers, and players will be targeting the Dodgers when they play them this year. St. Louis pitcher Miles Mikolas is the first to publicly state it, saying LA is playing “checkbook baseball.”
    Well, they better spend their checkbook even more, and lock up Blake Snell or they’re going to regret it. Pull the trigger with the money Shohei deferred, Andrew, and convince last year’s NL Cy Young winner to get on board.
    On a great note for the starters, Tyler Glasnow was a terrific signing, and worth every penny!
    Ohtani or not, LA is NOT invincible. We caution Dodger Nation to lower your expectations beyond Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman. Here’s why. Will Smith’s bat and Barnes’ pitch calling are nice plusses at the catcher position, but they’re not considered great by any means. The Dodgers farm system is stacked at the catcher position. Example: Hunter Feduccia’s bat is equal to or better than Smith’s. Barnes is a much better defensive catcher than Smith, and a very good pitch caller, with NO arm and NO bat. Isn’t it about time for an upgrade at this position? LA, youhave the “catcher beef” waiting in the wings.
    Max Muncy has power, but will not hit for average, and cannot play defense at third base. Nolan Arenado wants to come to LA. Pull the trigger Friedman, and trade for Nolan.
    Mookie is a great HOF player, but shortstop is the toughest position to play on the diamond, besides catcher. Will shortstop wear him out, and affect his hitting ability? We believe the demands of this position will affect his offense over the course of the year. Lux is a question mark. IF he hits, he’s serviceable. If not, he’s trade bait for Arenado.
    We all know the Dodgers have question marks with their starting pitchers because of injuries. Who in this injury group will emerge, and be healthy enough to avoid what happened to LA last year? 39 different pitchers started games for the Dodgers last year. Just another reason to give Snell the money Ohtani deferred.
    DO NOT BE STUPID ANDREW! You can NEVER have enough pitching!
    Regarding the relievers, we strongly believe Evan Phillips is NOT tough enough, and doesn’t have the goods to be a reliable closer. Ryan Brasier got lucky with a 2 year deal after a strong showing last year, but can he repeat this year? So far, NO. He’s been hit hard this Spring. Vesia is trade bait. A spot pitcher vs left-handed batters only.
    Ryan Yarbrough throws junk, and why LA keeps a roster spot for him is questionable to us. Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen are mid-30’s pitchers coming off injuries. Graterol is injured to start the season. Does this sound like a bullpen that’s ready to dominate?
    And, again we DO NOT believe they have an established, proven closer!
    Lastly, after watching this Spring, we believe Yamamoto is definitely not worth $325 million. If he’s worth $325 mil, then Glasnow is worth Ohtani money. We warned the Dodgers of the pressure this kid will face from other pitchers, hitters, and teams. WE have played the pro game, and know he will be targeted because of the money he got…without ever throwing an MLB pitch. Baseball players are jealous competitors. Every game over the course of a long season presents highly competitive issues that demand you perform or else you could be replaced. Established players, who’ve paid their dues, and who are not making this kind of ‘stupid money’ given to Yamamoto will be out to prove a point everytime he pitches. The question is, how will he respond to all this pressure?
    As they say, we shall soon see.
    Next post: Why Dave Roberts MUST win this year or he’s done as the Dodgers’ manager.

  4. Hey Mikolas Light, The Dodgers have only the ninth-highest payroll in 2024 at $214,721,666. The Yankees, Mets, Astros, Phillies, Blue Jays, Braves, Rangers and Cubs each have higher payrolls than the Dodgers. Oh by the way, your Cards are 10th in payroll just behind the Dodgers!

  5. Every team in MLB would have made the same moves if they had the capability. Mikey should be happy, it pushes up his potential paydays.

    Suggestion for the D’s. Make the doubles dance mimicking pulling out a checkbook and writing a check, at least when playing the Cardinals.

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