The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second straight World Series title in 2025 thanks in large part to their front office’s willingness to spend on All-Star talent. Other organizations may feel like Los Angeles has “ruined baseball,” given their spending ability, but one of the franchise's most prominent faces might be willing to level the playing field.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently spoke about MLB potentially implementing a salary cap, and his stance may surprise both fans and pundits.
“You know what? I’m all right with that,” Roberts said on on Amazon Prime’s “Good Sports” on Tuesday night. “I think the NBA has done a nice job of revenue sharing with the players and the owners. But if you’re going to kind of suppress spending at the top, I think that you got to raise the floor to make those bottom-feeders spend money, too.”
The Dodgers signed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year deal worth $700 million contract and also inked starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million pact that same offseason.
All told, Roberts’ team boasted a $415 million competitive balance tax figure, making the group the most expensive roster in baseball history. The skipper’s latest comments come as the sport braces for a potential lockout at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
Roberts turned heads when he jokingly alluded to how his squad was “ruining baseball” during the postseason. The Dodgers’ spending has made them a target across the league.
“Before the season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” Roberts said after the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”
It should be noted that a salary cap would not limit the Dodgers’ ability to spend on infrastructure and other important areas. It remains to be seen if baseball will ever implement a cap.
