The Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming for a World Series title three-peat this year, and they have the resources for it, financially and talent-wise. The Dodgers continued to expand their payroll this offseason, as they signed Kyle Tucker on a massive four-year, $240 million contract. With a projected payroll of a staggering $400 million, the Dodgers are often accused of ‘ruining baseball’, as other MLB teams struggle to compete with them financially. Following their Opening Day match against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a Dodgers RHP has come to his team’s defense.

With a batting lineup, including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Tucker, anchored by a rotation spearheaded by ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers have one of the best rosters. The Dodgers dominated against Arizona on Opening Day, winning 8-2, on their bid to the World Series, which re-ignited the allegations. But Tyler Glasnow was ready to defend his franchise, reported Talkin’ Baseball on X.

“If you’re a fan in a different market, I could see how you could be frustrated… But viewership is skyrocketing everywhere. I don’t think (the Dodgers) are bad for baseball,” stated Glasnow, going in the opposite direction of popular opinion.

Glasnow is under a 5-year/$136.5 million contract with the Dodgers. He further thinks the Dodgers are not bad for baseball.

The Dodgers have a tendency of signing huge contracts with top talents of the MLB. They signed Ohtani on a 10-year contract and Yamamoto on a 12-year contract. NL MVP Ohtani is under a $700 million contract, and Yamamoto signed on a $325 million contract. Their huge payrolls have often become central to the salary cap conversations, as their current CBA is expiring soon.

The Dodgers face allegations of ruining baseball by utilizing their financial resources to obtain the best talent. Critics believe the Dodgers are hoarding top talent in their club and not giving other franchises a chance to compete.

Their projected Opening Day payroll is estimated at $322.4 million, as reported by USA Today. Tucker, Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Blake Snell will defer over $100 million in salaries this year.

However, the Dodgers, despite facing all the ‘ruining baseball’ accusations, do not have the highest estimated projected Opening Day payroll. The Mets have taken the top spot with a projected payroll of $357.6 million, according to USA Today. The New York Yankees come third with $301 million.

Though Glasnow noted that opposing fans won’t understandably be particularly fond of the Dodgers’ prowess, he affirmed that they are not ruining baseball. According to Glasnow, they are rather increasing baseball’s popularity, as evident from their huge World Series viewership. The seven-game series reportedly had an average viewership of 34.0 million across the U.S.A, Canada, and Japan.

Glasnow is scheduled to make his start against the D’backs in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on March 28. This Spring, he made four starts, posting a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings.

Furthermore, Hall of Fame ace Pedro Martinez also thinks the same as Glasnow. According to Martinez, he has no issue with the payroll. Moreover, he thinks elite players should be compensated on an elite level.

“I’m all for it,” said Martinez on The Bleed Los podcast. “If you’re that special athlete, you need to be treated specially, and I don’t mind. I don’t mind anything. I love that the players get whatever they can get from baseball.”

Despite the heavy criticism, the Dodgers seem to have embraced being the villains of baseball.

The Dodgers are happy to be the ‘bad guys’ of baseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming for a World Series three-peat after their back-to-back 2024 and 2025 wins. The last time this happened in baseball was when the Yankees were on their dominant streak. The Yankees won three consecutive rings from 1998 to 2000.

On their way to a third consecutive win-it-all season, the Dodgers appear to have taken all the criticism in stride.

In the Opening Day video that the Dodgers posted on their official X account, the words “BAD GUYS” appear at the beginning of the video. Dodgers fan and actor Jason Bateman takes the role of the narrator.

Taking a dig at all the “ruining baseball” critics, Bateman can be heard saying, “If being the best makes you bad, then so be it. They’ll come for the crown, take a swing at the champ.”

The video is 1 minute 44 seconds long, showing key moments from the Dodgers’ playoffs last year, including the celebrations after winning the World Series. It also features Miguel Rojas and Will Smith’s home runs, alongside the pitchers striking out opponent batters.

In the video, Bateman further hypes the Dodgers, stating, “They wanna beat us because they wanna be us. But if we’re being honest, sometimes it’s fun to root for the bad guy.”

Though the Dodgers might have embraced their roles as a villain, it remains to be seen how their payroll gets affected once the current CBA expires.