Jeff Passan suggests Kyle Tucker’s Dodgers contract was the straw that broke camel’s back

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ history-making contract with Kyle Tucker could have elevated their crew’s probabilities at a three-peat, but it surely additionally seems to have assured the probabilities of a MLB lockout in 2027.

That sentiment — which was already broadly understood by the Dodgers-are-ruining-baseball crowd — was shared by ESPN’s chief baseball scribe Jeff Passan in an article that targeted squarely on LA’s budding dynasty. In that piece, Passan mirrored one high-ranking crew official as saying that the house owners are prepared to “burn the [expletive] house down” to be able to implement a wage cap and cease the Dodgers’ rampage.

However, it is also price sharing that, whereas the subjective evaluation from different fanbases would not paint a wholesome baseball panorama, the Dodgers’ latest success has had an objectively constructive influence on MLB.

“Los Angeles bred an empire because in MLB’s current system, money and hypercompetence are a potent combination. And in spite of the Dodgers taking over the sport as they have — and, in lesser ways, because of what they’ve done — there has been a renaissance in recent years, a renewed interest in the game nationally to correspond with tremendous growth internationally, particularly in Japan,” Passan wrote.

In different phrases: Baseball goes to vary, however maybe the Dodgers should not.

Dodgers aren’t solely crew liable for impending MLB lockout

There’s no level in denying that the Dodgers have utterly taken over the sport. Their payroll has reached stratospheric ranges that nearly no different crew can match. In truth, you’d must multiply the Miami Marlins’ complete AAV commitments by seven simply to approximate the place the Dodgers are at in 2026.

Obviously, that’s not sustainable. Teams like the Marlins, Rays, and Athletics ought to completely be spending extra money to construct aggressive rosters 12 months in and 12 months out, however there’s additionally an enormous distinction between asking these groups to extend their payroll by 20% and 700%.

The Dodgers aren’t the solely ones liable for this newfound stage of fiscal disparity, both. As Passan notes, the New York Mets have really spent extra (roughly $70 million) than Los Angeles has over the previous 5 seasons. The solely cause one will get extra flack is that their spending has led to a number of World Series titles.

It’s practically unimaginable to think about the MLBPA willingly succumbing to any wage cap calls for — they did not accomplish that throughout the 1994 lockout that disadvantaged the sport of a World Series that 12 months, and odds are either side are prepared to sacrifice some portion of the 2027 season to get what they need.

So, yeah, this struggle goes to get ugly. The Dodgers have had a component in sowing these seeds of discontent, however no crew or proprietor is completely harmless. The economics of the sport will greater than doubtless irrevocably change following the 2026 season, which can or could not alter the means groups may be constructed and sustained.

Before that occurs, perhaps it would be finest to finish the three-peat. You know, simply to rub somewhat salt in the wound.