Did the Dodgers ruin baseball? They say no, a banner says yes

Did the Dodgers ruin baseball? They say no, a banner says yes

Economy World


CHICAGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ trade for Tarik Skubal did little to dispel the notion that the back-to-back World Series champions are baseball’s premier villain. That sentiment was clear on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, where a plane circled above displaying a banner that read: “THE DODGERS RUINED BASEBALL.”

The message, which carried the logo of a sports betting company, was displayed upside down. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that was part of the bit or a simple case of human error. No matter why it was displayed incorrectly, the words amplified a popular post-trade deadline talking point. The banner fluttered in the sky ahead of Tuesday’s Dodgers-Cubs game, Skubal’s first start for Los Angeles.

The Skubal trade reignited a familiar conversation — that the Dodgers will be the root cause of MLB’s anticipated lockout this winter.

Skubal, who was booed in Chicago as he walked to the bullpen to warm up, had established his rebuttal a day earlier.

“I don’t really sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done,” the two-time Cy Young Award winner said Monday. “They’ve developed a really good organization.”

The Dodgers have the top payroll in baseball, with an estimated luxury tax figure of $430.9 million, according to Cot’s Contracts. Skubal is simply the latest in a string of superstars to join the club. In the offseason, after beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, the Dodgers splurged on outfielder Kyle Tucker (four years, $240 million)  and closer Edwin Díaz (three years, $69 million).

They are heavy favorites to win again, with the highest odds of winning the World Series, according to FanGraphs projections (26.9 percent).

Do they feel they’re ruining the sport?

“Passionately disagree,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Sunday. “This is about the partnership that we have with our fans who come out 50,000 large and the passion that they have for this team, the guys in that clubhouse who are doing everything they can to put us in position to win a World Series.”

Amid the uproar over the Dodgers’ spending, Skubal noted that he was acquired for prospects, not cash. Dave Roberts, the club’s manager, expressed a similar sentiment.

“It just seems like there’s always blowback with us,” Roberts said. “People are passionate. We feel good about it. There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done.”

Who won and lost the MLB trade deadline?

Andy McCullough and Johnny Sweet

In the hours before Skubal’s debut for the Dodgers, Roberts called it “a big deal for baseball” and pointed to the spotlight on one of the sport’s premier franchises.

This has been the club’s argument: love them, hate them, blame them, you’ll still watch them.

Even the Dodgers’ competitors seem to agree. Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said his club was among those that pursued Skubal in the trade market. He did not begrudge the Dodgers for getting a deal done.

“I know there’s been a reaction around baseball about it, but they put themselves in positions to do that deal, and they did, and that’s exactly what they should be doing,” Hoyer said.