Former Dodgers Pitcher Says LA is in 'Full Villain Mode' This Offseason
Between their market size and their owners' deep pockets, the Los Angeles Dodgers have always had the financial wherewithal to spend like the New York Yankees of the 1990s and 2000s.
Often, they've held back in the name of long-term sustainability. It's difficult to argue with the results: National League West titles in 10 of the last 11 seasons, while simultaneously earning high marks on organizational ranking lists each year.
But the Dodgers' signing of Shohei Ohtani in December saw them flex their financial muscle in a way the franchise — any franchise, for that matter — had never done. Los Angeles has committed more than $1 billion this offseason to just a few players, turning them into a villain around baseball.
Former Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling, now with the rival San Francisco Giants, believes L.A. went "full villain mode." During an appearance on Foul Territory, Stripling gave his thoughts on his former team's offseason.
“As far as what the Dodgers did, the way I look at it is that they are just going full villain mode in a way. They’ve always had the payroll, but they’ve done an unbelievable job in drafting and developing talent. I think that World Series team had like 16 home grown Dodgers on it. Now it’s Freddie, it’s Mookie, it’s Shohei and it’s Yamamoto, and they’re coming for everybody.”
While the Dodgers have only won one World Series since this new ownership group took over, they've typically run some of the sport's highest payrolls. The individual contracts the Dodgers have shelled out this winter have far exceeded their normal pattern.
Bringing in Ohtani, along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, gives the Dodgers a very solid shot to win the title. Of course, no games are played on paper, and the Dodgers will have to earn the title of champions.
For now, the clubhouse is packed with more talent than any Dodger team in recent memory. If they are labeled the villains of baseball, so be it. The Dodgers' spending spree is good for the sport, and baseball would benefit from more organizations trying to win rather than cutting costs.
