***Official - 2025 Major League Baseball Thread (7 Viewers)

[Judge Smails]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

And Freeman. What a horrible take

 

[loser]

$432,000 a game to not play in the field got it

 

[BeTheMatch]

$432,000 a game to not play in the field got it

You'd rather have the owners hold onto it?

 

[loser]

$432,000 a game to not play in the field got it

You'd rather have the owners hold onto it?

Well it's a stacked deck but thats besides the point. We're talking basically $100,000 a plate appearance in 2024. I mean cmon

 

[ChiefD]

He must have seen my post about the exchange rate.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Ohtanis $70 million per year is higher than the opening day payrolls of Baltimore and Oakland

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Also, there is a story that the orioles might have someone buying them, which would be ****ing awesome

 

[thecatch]

Friedman is a genius.

The baseball acumen it takes to run a franchise in Los Angeles and throw dump trucks of money around at the biggest free agent is truly awe inspiring.

 

[gianmarco]

I'd hate to be an Angels fan now knowing you could have gotten a ransom of players for him and now you get absolutely nothing in return.

 

[Judge Smails]

I'd hate to be an Angels fan now knowing you could have gotten a ransom of players for him and now you get absolutely nothing in return.

Arte Moreno is held in the same regard as Frank McCourt around here

 

[General Malaise]

Friedman is a genius.

The baseball acumen it takes to run a franchise in Los Angeles and throw dump trucks of money around at the biggest free agent is truly awe inspiring.

They have only 1 world series championship in the last 35 years and that was the Covid year which is highly diluted. Hard to win without pitching but go ahead genius.

 

[Judge Smails]

Friedman is a genius.

The baseball acumen it takes to run a franchise in Los Angeles and throw dump trucks of money around at the biggest free agent is truly awe inspiring.

Yeah. Sure. Mookie Betts has been a bargain. Freddie Freeman has been lights out. Their hits have been way higher than anyone else’s. Their farm system is continuously one of the best producing star after star. Look at the home grown stars who became hot free agents (Seager, etc). They’ve judiciously walked away from high priced free agents for 2 years because they were committed to getting Ohtani. And they did. They’ve suffered due to massive injuries with pitchers like Beuhler, May and others + the situations with Bauer and Urias. If not for that I’m confident they have more rings vs pennants. Yankees spend. Red Sox spend. Padres spend. Giants spend. Rangers spend. Angels spend. And more. It’s not just about spending. It’s what you do with it. And please, knock the success of their farm system

 

[Judge Smails]

They also average over 47,000 fans every single night. 7K more than the next closest franchise and double that of many. In a place with umpteen entertainment options where you’re not the only game in town. Yeah. Shoddy organization.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

They also average over 47,000 fans every single night. 7K more than the next closest franchise and double that of many. In a place with umpteen entertainment options where you’re not the only game in town. Yeah. Shoddy organization.

I agree that they are a well run organization but is paying ohtani the biggest contract really worthy of the term of “genius”?

 

[General Malaise]

They also average over 47,000 fans every single night. 7K more than the next closest franchise and double that of many. In a place with umpteen entertainment options where you’re not the only game in town. Yeah. Shoddy organization.

It's a great organization. No doubt. But the Marlins have more World Series titles than the Dodgers do since they came into league. For all this spending the Dodgers have done there isn't much to show for it other than a diluted title in 2020.

 

[thecatch]

Friedman is a genius.

The baseball acumen it takes to run a franchise in Los Angeles and throw dump trucks of money around at the biggest free agent is truly awe inspiring.

Yeah. Sure. Mookie Betts has been a bargain. Freddie Freeman has been lights out. Their hits have been way higher than anyone else’s. Their farm system is continuously one of the best producing star after star. Look at the home grown stars who became hot free agents (Seager, etc). They’ve judiciously walked away from high priced free agents for 2 years because they were committed to getting Ohtani. And they did. They’ve suffered due to massive injuries with pitchers like Beuhler, May and others + the situations with Bauer and Urias. If not for that I’m confident they have more rings vs pennants. Yankees spend. Red Sox spend. Padres spend. Giants spend. Rangers spend. Angels spend. And more. It’s not just about spending. It’s what you do with it. And please, knock the success of their farm system

If you want to tout the farm system, by all means go ahead. Don’t come in here about what a brainiac he is because he threw 0.7 billion at Ohtani.

 

[Desert_Power]

Friedman is a genius.

The baseball acumen it takes to run a franchise in Los Angeles and throw dump trucks of money around at the biggest free agent is truly awe inspiring.

Tell that to the Angels.

 

[GroveDiesel]

When was the last time that a player in a major sport averaged more than 50% more money a year than the 2nd highest player? That’s crazy.

The last one that contended for a Cy Young, MVP and Silver Slugger every year

You seem defensive.

Also, it was a legit question.

 

[Dickies]

He’s going to be a DH for the better part of the next two seasons. Absolutely crazy from a team building perspective, but I suspect there is a ton of cultural value in having him and he will move a lot of jerseys.

 

[Judge Smails]

It’s a ton of money. No doubt. This was always going to be $600-$700M. Some thought there would be a discount with the injury. Guess they feel confident he will go back to being a dominant pitcher. Add up the price for a dominant starting pitcher with the price for a dominant left handed power hitter.

I don’t disagree that they have underachieved with # of titles. And that’s the ultimate scoreboard. They need to win 2 titles to make Ohtani pay off. Anything else is a failure.

 

[ChiefD]

The Royals have won the same number of World Series as the Dodgers since 1985.

Chew on that one for a minute.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Chew on that one for a minute.

Like the way UL Washington used to chew on that toothpick.

 

[HellToupee]

Love Ohtani but this is horrible for baseball . The deferment getting around the Competitive Balance Tax is BS

Also saw on X that the top 5 players in WAR are on 2 teams

 

[Grahamburn]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

The

Hate all you want. He was the most coveted free agent in memory. And he’s a Dodger. He’s 29. They’ll get at least 6 great years out of him on the field and immense value off of it. Friedman is a genius.

what is genius about having more money than everyone else?

 

[Capella]

The deferment getting around the Competitive Balance Tax is BS

Shocked they are allowed to do this. I’ve never heard of this before but it’s pretty blatant. A strong commish may step in on that but not this bozo.

 

[Grahamburn]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

And Freeman. What a horrible take

Are we not reading the post I quoted?

 

[PIK95]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

And Freeman. What a horrible take

Are we not reading the post I quoted?

I noticed and laughed to myself

 

[Chemical X]

29, 2nd elbow injury/surgery. doesn’t play the field and won’t pitch for 2 years. they obviously convinced the dodgers he was 2 players, the pitcher gets 30 per and the hitter 45? if their payroll is 275, ohtani will make 1/4.
crazy stuff.

 

[irish eyes]

This may rival the Deshaun Watson signing.

 

[HellToupee]

The deferment getting around the Competitive Balance Tax is BS

Shocked they are allowed to do this. I’ve never heard of this before but it’s pretty blatant. A strong commish may step in on that but not this bozo.

They’re going to end up with Yamamoto

 

[HellToupee]

This may rival the Deshaun Watson signing.

Are you 3 sheets to the wind tonight? Watson came with a ton of “baggage “as well as a few other questions. Ohtani is in rarified air of the greats of the game and also has a stellar reputation

 

[Eephus]

Love Ohtani but this is horrible for baseball

It generates interest

 

[Orange&Blue]

why would mlb allow this?

"Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis, giving them more freedom to add players over the life of Ohtani's contract."

 

[Eephus]

It's a good deal if Ohtani is able to return as a dominant pitcher. Otherwise, it's a ton of money for a DH.

 

[Eephus]

why would mlb allow this?

"Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis, giving them more freedom to add players over the life of Ohtani's contract."

The Orioles are paying Chris Davis until 2037

 

[irish eyes]

This may rival the Deshaun Watson signing.

Are you 3 sheets to the wind tonight? Watson came with a ton of “baggage “as well as a few other questions. Ohtani is in rarified air of the greats of the game and also has a stellar reputation

When is he going to pitch again? 70 a year for a DH until then, no thanks.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

Yeah. Freeman too

 

[Courtjester]

It's a good deal if Ohtani is able to return as a dominant pitcher. Otherwise, it's a ton of money for a DH.

And maybe not such a good deal for Ohtani unless his tax people can get creative. 700 million in California doesn't quite stretch as far as other states.

 

[scoobus]

It's a good deal if Ohtani is able to return as a dominant pitcher. Otherwise, it's a ton of money for a DH.

And maybe not such a good deal for Ohtani unless his tax people can get creative. 700 million in California doesn't quite stretch as far as other states.

I think he did ok.

 

[The Duff Man]

Glad I stopped watching this sport two decades ago. It is a poker tournament with some players starting with multiple times the chips of others

 

[Capella]

why would mlb allow this?

"Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis, giving them more freedom to add players over the life of Ohtani's contract."

The Orioles are paying Chris Davis until 2037

yea but he’s worth it

 

[GroveDiesel]

It's a good deal if Ohtani is able to return as a dominant pitcher. Otherwise, it's a ton of money for a DH.

And maybe not such a good deal for Ohtani unless his tax people can get creative. 700 million in California doesn't quite stretch as far as other states.

Wonder how it works when the money is deferred?

 

[HellToupee]

Love Ohtani but this is horrible for baseball

It generates interest

It can generate a lot of interest and it’s always great to have a team be a villain . It circumvents the CBT and if it allows them to sign Yamamoto and perhaps another high profile FA it’s bad for the game, imo

 

[Eephus]

And maybe not such a good deal for Ohtani unless his tax people can get creative. 700 million in California doesn't quite stretch as far as other states.

I wish he'd signed with the Giants but as a citizen of California, I'm glad he stayed in-state

 

[Eephus]

It can generate a lot of interest and it’s always great to have a team be a villain . It circumvents the CBT and if it allows them to sign Yamamoto and perhaps another high profile FA it’s bad for the game, imo

Deferred money in sports contracts has been around for at least as long as Bobby Bonilla has.

Under the current CBA, I believe the net present value of the deferred salary is used for CBT purposes. If a third of the money is deferred as it is for Mookie Betts' contract, the Dodgers won't get the full 33% in cap relief. There will be some discount but not enough to cover Yamamoto's salary.

 

[Grahamburn]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

Yeah. Freeman too

I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!

 

[Judge Smails]

why would mlb allow this?

"Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis, giving them more freedom to add players over the life of Ohtani's contract."

The Orioles are paying Chris Davis until 2037

Now THAT was a Deshaun Watson contract

 

[Dickies]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

Yeah. Freeman too

I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!

I’m dying.

 

[loser]

What about Kirk Gibson though?

 

[Cowboysfan8]

He’s a dodger

Gross.

But at least it's not the Yankees.

Was hoping it’d be them. I love watching all their high priced free agents fail.

yeah, mookie betts is awful

Yeah. Freeman too

I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!

Well yeah, everybody likes to see them fail