The Los Angeles Dodgers may be the reigning World Series champions, but they found a way to get demonstrably better this offseason, signing both Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz in free agency. The moves infuriated the rest of the baseball world and reignited demands for the implementation of a salary cap as the Dodgers get ready to defend their World Series title.
In a bit of an unorthodox move, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reportedly asked both Diaz and Tucker to stand in front of their new teammates and explain their reasoning for joining Los Angeles.
“I think it's powerful for our guys to hear it from the other side,” Roberts said, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, “from somebody who hasn't been here.”
Gonzalez reported that their messages “centered on the team's attention to detail, the professionalism with which they play and the way staffers take care of players' families.”
While professionalism and attention to detail are nice, the Dodgers' seemingly never-ending payroll and status as the best roster in the MLB landscape also certainly help make them an attractive destination for free agents, having convinced several big stars to swallow their pride and sign with them over the last few offseasons.
“I think one of our most overarching goals is to be a destination spot,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “Most important, where our own guys don't want to leave. But where players from other teams are looking longingly, like, ‘Oh, I want to be on the Dodgers' — that's our goal.”
While Gonzalez reported that the team officials believe that “the Dodgers don't just win because they have more money than everybody else,” the rest of the MLB would be inclined to disagree with that statement, which could cause a salary cap-related lockout prior to next season.
In any case, the Dodgers will hope to have added another trophy to their case before that possibly takes place.
