Royals GM Sounds Off on Dodgers Before Looming CBA Fight
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The Kansas City Royals are a team that operates in a smaller market. They don't have the same financial resources as teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.
However, they have been a better team over the past two seasons, finishing over .500 each time and even earning a Wild Card berth in 2024. They spent a little more this offseason to build a better 2026 club.
And so, fans may wonder what the Royals and other small-market teams think of the big-market clubs that spend money. Often times, small-market owners will be critical of teams like the Dodgers, and they are willing to miss the entire 2027 season in order to fight for a salary cap. But general manager J.J. Picollo sounded off on this, and didn't have anything negative to say.
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J.J. Picollo weighs in on Dodgers
“They’ve done this strategically, and have done it well. They’re capitalizing on things that are perfectly within what’s permitted. What they’re doing is fascinating, and it’s really impressive.’’
Some might have expected Picollo, a GM of a small-market team to be more critical, but he had nothing negative to say about the Dodgers. Ultimately, he works within the parameters of what owner John Sherman allows, but while the Royals aren't always big spenders, their feathers don't appear to be ruffled over how the Dodgers operate.
The truth is that other teams can still spend money, and while they may not have the resources that the Dodgers do financially, there are still ways to add good players to a roster, even for small-market teams with less financial leeway.
Picollo and the Royals seem to understand this, and know that it's going to take a little more effort from other teams to take down the back-to-back World Series champions.
The Royals don't hold a candle to what the Dodgers have been able to do, but it's clear that nobody feels sorry for small-market teams that won't spend, and there are a lot of people around the league that do not like the idea of a salary cap, which is what owners will be pushing in the next CBA negotiations that hang over the 2027 season.
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Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.
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