Cody Snavely
PHILADELPHIA— We are weeks removed from the 2025 Major League Baseball offseason in which the Dodgers firmly become the defacto villains in Major League Baseball after shelling out over one billion dollars in back-to-back winters.
The organization did not remain complacent despite dominantly winning the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees in five games, giving them their eighth title in franchise history and their second in five seasons.
With minimal holes to fill, the Dodgers went above and beyond this winter to strengthen their pitching staff with the signings of two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 23-year-old Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki.
They brought back key players from last year’s World Series run with the multi-year signings of fan-favorite players Blake Treinen and Teoscar Hernández.
To top it off, they brought back future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw and gave manager Dave Roberts the largest contract in the sport’s history.
At the end of it all, you get twenty-nine angry fanbases and a debate on whether what the team does is terrible for the sport.
The media asked that same question for Philadelphia Phillies all-star first baseman and two-time National League Most Valuable Player Award winner Bryce Harper, who praised the Dodgers and their spending.
I don’t know if people will like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team. They’re a great organization.
Harper, who signed a record-breaking 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies during the 2019 Major League Baseball offseason, knows what it takes to win, and to win, you have to spend a bit of money.
The Phillies, in their current run since the 2022 season, which has given them a record of 272-214 over the last three seasons, one National League Pennant, and their first National League East title last season since the 2011 season, have constantly been in the top of league payroll.
This season, the Phillies have the largest active payroll in baseball with an estimated salary of $273.6 million, two million more than the Dodgers.
Harper’s comments are what any true athlete would say. Rather than sit and complain about one team, at the end of the day, the beauty of baseball is that any team can dethrone the Dodgers, especially the Philadelphia Phillies.
Last year, the Phillies dismantled the Dodgers during their two meetings in July and August, outscoring Los Angeles 37-16, including a sweep here in Philadelphia.
The Dodgers and Phillies begin a massive three-game series tonight at Citizens Bank Park, exclusively on Apple TV+ at 3:45 PM PT.
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