DODGERS SPENDING HABITS ARE TOO MUCH FOR THE YANKEES

Could it be possible that the spotlight of evil is off the Yankees? The Athletic thinks so. In fact their quote is this, "Maybe the Evil Empire really has relocated to the West Coast." Yes, maybe, and eventually they have to pay up. I feel like they just keep racking in the "Bobby Bonillas". In case you don't know, this was the contract the New York Mets agreed on in order to bring in and eventually cut Bonilla back in 2001. He is paid every July 1 through 2035. The Dodgers have a few of those kinds of contracts. In fact, "The Dodgers have committed nearly a half-billion in guaranteed dollars to players this offseason, second only to the New York Mets, who signed Juan Soto to a historic 15-year, $765 million deal." So it is safe to say that the Dodgers spending habits are wide and deep, perhaps too deep for the Yankees.

According to The Athletic, "This winter, the Dodgers made the following big-money signings: Lefty starting pitcher Blake Snell, five years, $182 million; lefty reliever Tanner Scott, four years, $72 million; outfielder Teoscar Hernández, three years, $66 million; righty reliever Blake Treinen, two years, $22 million; outfielder Michael Conforto, one year, $17 million; and infielder Hyeseong Kim, three years, $12.5 million. They also landed Japanese free-agent starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, the most coveted international prospect of the winter." This is in addition of course to Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, must I go on? You can see the whole payroll here.

But the Yankees haven't been quiet in the off season. They have made some upgrades for sure. But not quite at the expense that the Dodgers have. They have picked up starting pitcher Max Fried, veteran first base man Paul Goldschmidt, outfield Cody Bellinger and likely the best closer in the game right now in Devin Williams. Yet, still, the Death Star march plays for the Dodgers who have positioned themselves as not only the team to beat but the team to hate.

What likely adds salt to the Yankees wounds is that the Dodgers are favored to repeat in 2025, perhaps a rematch in the Fall Classic with their rival Bombers. But I think Hal Steinbrenner has the right mindset here, “They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it’s a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We’ve seen that time and time again. We’ll see who’s there at the end.” He's right. The season is unforgiving. And injuries are inevitable. It is about who is left standing at the end. And this year, the Yankees hope it's them and that they have done enough.

With Spring Training only a few weeks away, the anticipation for the new season is high. Will the Yankees start early and stay strong? My prediction is yes. They have a good start; they lead the East through the All-Star Break, and they have a heck of half of a season. But guess what, so do the Dodgers. So, then it really comes down to do the dollar pay for endurance and greatness? We shall see. It will be interesting to watch what money can pay for. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof