No, Blake Snell Signing With The Dodgers Isn't 'Bad For Baseball'

The Los Angeles Dodgers are at it again, signing Blake Snell, the top available free agent starter, to a 5-year, $182 million contract. 

Coming less than a month after the 2024 Dodgers won the World Series, and with the revelation that yet again the Dodgers utilized deferred money to lock down one of the best players in baseball, fans of opposing teams have not been happy.

READ: Reigning Champion Dodgers Make First Big Splash, Sign Blake Snell As Opposing Fans Scream Foul

The most commonly heard phrase across the sport is that the Dodgers accumulating talent is "bad for baseball." Search that phrase on X, and you'll be bombarded with bitter fans of other teams furious that the Dodgers are yet again demonstrating that they are actively trying to win. But those fans complaining about the missing the point, misunderstanding how baseball works, and putting the blame where it doesn't belong.

May 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Any Team In MLB Could Have Done Dodgers Blake Snell Deal

Much of the anger towards the Dodgers is based on the perceived strength of their roster, and yet another contract with deferred money attached. Reports placed Snell's deferrals at roughly $60 million, meaning that in combination with a $52 million signing bonus, his actual annual salary will be just over $13 million per year for the life of the contract.

Any team in baseball could afford to make that deal for one of the best pitchers in baseball. And you could make a case that there were four or five teams that should have made that deal instead of the Dodgers.

That's where the anger should be directed; at the other teams, owned by billionaires, who refuse to spend money to make their teams better. Fans furious with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball don't understand the rules, which were agreed to by both the players union and the ownership group, that allows players to defer money if they so chose.

And many are choosing to do so, guaranteeing salaries after retirement, and giving their new team financial flexibility to continue making the current roster better. Snell clearly was willing to accept that type of arrangement, as was Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. If other teams wanted to take advantage of it, they could have. Ohtani was available to all 30 teams. So was Snell. So was Freddie Freeman, who took deferred money.

Yes, the Dodgers have higher revenues than almost any other team. But small market teams get luxury tax distributions and television income that far outpaces salary commitments. They just choose to spend a lower percentage of their revenues on players. 

Not to mention this ignores that there is no way to "buy" a championship. As we've seen in every single recent playoff tournament, excluding this one and 2020, it's exceedingly rare for the "best" team on paper to win a World Series. The Dodgers odds of repeating in 2025 went from somewhere around 15% on Monday to 15.5% on Tuesday by adding Snell. Because there's too much randomness and luck inherent in the sport to allow for one team, or one player, to dominate.

The Dodgers could get bounced in the NLDS because of injuries, a bad start from Snell or Tyler Glasnow, or their offense having a bad series. 

Frustrated fans are raving about the NFL's supposed parity because of a salary cap, yet the Lions and Chiefs have won 91% of their games through the first three months of the season. Heck, the Bills and Eagles have won 82% of their games. The Dodgers won 60% of the time in 2024. 

Yes, an already great team got better by adding Blake Snell. Yes, the Dodgers have deferred a ton of money in order to afford their current roster. But what's bad for baseball isn't a team and ownership group actively trying to win, even after they just did, it's the other owners crying poor in order to pocket more profits instead of reinvesting on the field. 

If they don't care about winning, buy a toaster company. Baseball is a competitive enterprise. Unfortunately, the Dodgers are one of the few teams acting like it.