Just Can’t Quite Say Goodbye Yet

One would think that since the trade deadline has long passed and the waiver wire has been skimmed pretty thoroughly that contract talks would come to a close for the year. Then I come in to the picture to keep the talks going.

All of the mega deals and trades that were made this year got me thinking (scary thought I know), but keep reading and you’ll find out there’s a method to my endless madness.

Some could say this is just my rant of the day, but I like to look at it as the insight of the day. Like I said, all of these monster trades and big paychecks have got me thinking about who’s really paying who in these trades.

One specific situation that I’d love to address is who the LosAngeles Dodgers are paying?

The Dodgers have recently been a team MLB fans can count on to land a big time deals with many blockbuster trades. Even though LA may be baseballs richest team with one of the biggest payrolls in baseball, they are not spending it all on their own players.

That’s right folks, like a divorce that just keeps on getting worse by the day the Los Angeles Dodgers are shelling out some big money to players who no longer wear a Dodger uniform.

All the trades the Dodgers have made over the years have in fact helped produce great performances on the field, but cost them off the field to the tune of $87.5 million to players who are no longer with the team. That’s not including the rest of their monetary commitments which exceed over $300 million.

The thing about today’s Dodgers team is that they are so willing to trade almost anyone (with the exception of Kershaw) without hesitation. The Dodgers were very willing to part ways with highly coveted Cuban prospect Hector Olivera (and the Atlanta Braves were very willing to accept him), but couldn’t shake off the $28 million signing bonus they still owe him.

Olivera is just one of the many players who still receive healthy wages from the Dodgers including Matt Kemp, Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Juan Uribe, and Brian Wilson just to name a few.

There are always two sides to every coin and the Dodgers are figuring out that the other side of the coin is a tad bit more expensive than their side. I understand that all of this is done in the name of winning championships, but even the wealthiest of teams will break under the weight of too many enormous contracts that would certainly crush smaller market teams.

Take a look at the New York Yankees. Over the last five to ten years we've seen severe drops in production and I'm pretty sure I know the reason. It's no secret that while the Yankees do have talent within their organization, it's been money that has lured talent to the Bronx.

After continually buying their talent, the Yankees started to get sloppy with their purchases as they acquired players like Vernon Wells, Travis Haffner, and others who were well past their prime. As a result of all that we saw the Yankees have un-Yankee like loosing seasons.

I'm not sure if it will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Dodgers fall into similar situations. The difference with the Dodgers would be that they would be down talent and money, which would be a lot harder to overcome. They've been smart about it so far, but sooner or later we might just see the financial burden get the best of them.

For now the Dodgers will continue on with their star-studded roster and their enormous payroll. They will continue to blow past the luxury tax and provide a large quantity of funding into the leagues revenue sharing pool, therefore equipping small market teams with the money they need to bolster their payrolls.

Money can't buy championships and so far the Dodgers have proven that beyond a doubt, but who knows, maybe this year will be the year they change that. Only time will tell.