The Los Angeles Dodgers are flexing their financial might on the rest of the MLB. Not only did they secure the services of Shohei Ohtani, the biggest free agent in MLB history, by signing him to a 10-year, $700 million deal, they also bolstered their roster even further on Thursday night after news of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's decision to sign for the Dodgers broke.

As many as six or seven teams were hoping to secure Yamamoto's signature, with the likes of New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox all hoping to overcome the Dodgers' combination of strong interest, pitch, and financial capability. However, the Dodgers are clearly tired of falling short in the postseason over and over again despite posting stellar regular seasons, so they're loading up on as many stars as they can on all facets of the diamond, turning into the Evil Empire of the West Coast.

“As A @Dodgers fan I have zero issues pushing @Yankees aside as The New Evil Empire,” one fan wrote. Wrote another, “The Yankees are no longer the Evil Empire. That title belongs to the Dodgers now.”

The Dodgers were able to sign two of the biggest free agents in the 2023 MLB offseason; there's no doubt that the roster got better, even if Shohei Ohtani won't be available on the mound for much, if not all, of the 2024 season. But some fans argued that their signing of Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto doesn't come without its fair share of risks.

“12/$325M + $50M signing for Yamamoto who has never pitched in MLB. 10/$700M for Ohtani coming off his 2nd TJ, won’t pitch in 24, and may never pitch the same again. The Dodgers have gone full stupid. Let them eat those contracts and still wash out in the DS,” one fan who is clearly bearish on the Dodgers pointed out.

Others were worried about the competitive balance in the league when the Dodgers can spend whatever money they want just so they could be that much better than the opposition.

“Baseball needs to be even for all teams. Not one super team plus the other 29,” one fan noted. This was echoed by another fan: “The fact that they also landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a step too far. Money continues to ruin baseball (and sports in general).”

But as many detractors as the Dodgers will have, make no mistake about it: they might be the favorite to win the World Series next season.