The Los Angeles Dodgers are standing just one win away from another World Series appearance. If they win their next Game 4 of the ALCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, it’ll be their back-to-back World Series appearance, where they won last year against the New York Yankees. And it will mark their third trip to the Fall Classic in the last five years under the ownership of Mark Walter when they reach the postseason for twelve straight years. This incredible success always sparks questions: Are they building a championship team or just buying one?

This question follows the team everywhere they go. Manager Dave Roberts recently gave a direct response to the “buying a championship” narrative. “We’re in a big market, we’re expected to win.” Roberts said. “ I can’t speak to revenue we’re bringing but our ownership puts a big chunk into players and that’s the way it should be. Trying to be a competitor.”

Basically, Roberts believes the team’s ownership is simply doing its job, and high spending is just the necessary price of competing for one every single year. That’s why he added, “Our ownership puts it (revenue) back into players, a big chunk of it. That’s the way it should be with all ownership groups.”

But what does that price actually look like?

According to AP News, this season alone, the Dodgers have committed more than $500 million in salaries and luxury tax. And according to MLB’s latest tabulation, they overtook the New York Mets for the most expensive roster with a  $341.5 million payroll with in-season moves. To put that in perspective, they had to pay nearly $168 million in luxury tax this season, which exceeded their last season’s $103 million and more than their ALCS opponent, the Brewers’ $121 million payroll.

And that’s all, even after they have deferred payments for eight players over $1 billion for players like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Blake Snell, and Freddie Freeman.

That mountain of cash has assembled a roster that reads like an All-Star team. The Boys in Blue recently signed Blake Snell for $182 million and extended Will Smith for $140 million last year in a lineup that already had Shohei Ohtani with a record $700 million contract and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a $325 million contract. The lineup also features contracts of players like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Tyler Glasnow. This is how you fund a modern dynasty.

But is that the whole story?

Roberts argues it’s not the whole story, and he pointed out the talent they grow themselves. “I think that’s gonna be the easy narrative, but if you look at the 26-man roster… there’s still a lot of homegrown players,” Roberts said last season.  There are (a lot) of guys that I’m proud to say, they’re homegrown Dodgers.”

And yes, the Dodgers’ farm system is consistently ranked as one of the best, which entered 2025 with a rank of #4 and was bumped up to #1 by midseason. This pipeline produces players like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, and Will Smith. Even players like Max Muncy and Austin Barnes traded here in their early careers and experienced all of their success since joining the Dodgers.

And even with all this money and talent, the Dodgers are not unbeatable. In recent years, several lower-payroll clubs have sent them home from the playoffs. In 2023, the 100-win Dodgers were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The year before, the 111-win squad fell to the rival San Diego Padres.

And if spending alone guaranteed a title, the New York Mets would be champions. Owner Steve Cohen has spent more than anyone else since 2021, but not a single time have they reached the Fall classics, and even out of October baseball this season. On the other hand, many teams like the Brewers, Reds, Mariners, and Guardians all defied the odds to reach the postseason. The Mariners and the Brewers even guaranteed their first-round bye with low payrolls this season. Plus, past champions like the 2022 Houston Astros and 2021 Atlanta Braves also won it all without being top spenders. And this all proves only one point: money helps, but it is not everything.