There's one question that has risen above all others as the MLB world approaches training camp: Are the Los Angeles Dodgers ruining baseball?
On paper, the argument is pretty simple: the Dodgers spend more money than any other organization, have more deferred money than any other organization, and thus are buying their way to the World Series over teams that are more deserving but simply can't spend to the same level.
Is that argument valid? In the opinion of ascending Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski, the answer is a sarcastic yes, even if playing for a team that continues to reinvest its financial capital in the on-field product is far from a nightmare scenario for a young player entering his prime.
“I know, that's the worst, right? It's the worst to want to win. You know what I mean? Isn't that awful? Isn't that the point though? You know, I'm sure a lot of people are upset with it, but it's like, we're making a lot of money too as a team. So maybe it's a good formula,” Wrobleski noted.
“I don't know, but yeah, it's great to get all these good players, and I'm so blessed and fortunate to be a part of this organization who continues to show, you know, the fans of the organization and everybody that they want to win and they want to keep winning. And yeah, it's, again, another beautiful thing about this sport is you can spend a bunch of money and not win games. And it's, you know, it's crazy. It's unpredictable. And I think that's why people love it. And I think that's why, you know, in my opinion, we have one of the best leagues and best sports in the world. And, but yeah, it's great. I hate that we want to win so bad. It does suck.”
Selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Wrobleski has the unique career achievement of having won a World Series in each of his first two professional seasons with the club. At 25, Wrobleski has improved his ERA in each of the past two seasons and looks to be a major innings eater for the Dodgers out of the bullpen in 2026 if he isn't able to beat out Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki for the fifth starting spot behind Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani.
Will Wrobleski get the three-peat this fall? Only time will tell, but he certainly seems happy to be a member of the Dodgers, as they've giving him a chance to showcase his talents alongside some of the best players in the spot every time he steps on the mound.
