Dodgers Now Spending More On Top Players Than The Orioles Franchise Is Worth

The Los Angeles Dodgers 2023-2024 spending spree is apparently not quite finished. 

Late Wednesday afternoon, just a few hours before the team's domestic Opening Day, the Dodgers announced they'd agreed to a 10-year, $140 million extension with the team's starting catcher, Will Smith.

As high as the dollar figure sounds, it still represents something of a bargain for the 28-year-old Smith, who's been arguably the best catcher in the sport since his debut. In his five-year MLB career, Smith's been roughly 30 percent better on offense than the league average catcher. His defense has also received well above average ratings, contributing to 12.9 WAR, per Fangraphs, over the past three seasons. 

That level of production represents an outstanding value for "just" $14 million per year. It also means though, that the Dodgers have committed to over $1.8 billion in future payroll for Smith, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. 

To put that in perspective, the entire Baltimore Orioles organization just sold for $1.725 billion. 

That's right, the Dodgers are set to spend more on six players than the entire Orioles franchise is apparently worth. Amazing.

SEOUL - Shohei Ohtani  (17) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on during the singing of the national anthem prior to the 2024 Seoul Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on Sunday, March 17. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Dodgers Going For It In A Big Way

The difference in valuation is obvious considering the Dodgers massive television market, stadium and top-ranked attendance figures. 

But it's still jarring to see this much payroll committed to just six players. 

It's a bit misleading, since so much of the money owed is deferred, meaning that at present day valuations, the contracts are nowhere close to $1.8 billion. 

The Orioles though, have a young, exciting group of players, one of the game's best stadiums, and will almost assuredly see a surge in attendance after an impressive 100-win season in 2023. Still, television rights rule, and Baltimore is most definitely not Los Angeles.

For the Dodgers, the Smith extension doesn't change their outlook for 2024, but it does lock in one of their core, homegrown players for the rest of his career. And it ensures that the next 3+ years will have the consistency of elite talent at key positions. Betts at short, Smith catching, Glasnow and Yamamoto, and eventually Ohtani, anchoring the rotation, and Freeman at first.

It's a juggernaut. And yet it still doesn't guarantee anything. Something to comfort fans of teams like the "cheap" Baltimore Orioles.