It’s easy to look at the Los Angeles Dodgers and dismiss their remarkable success as being fueled by a $250 million payroll, allowing them to throw money at every problem that arises.
Sure, the Dodgers’ financial power has played a role in their success. But to chalk their success strictly up to that is ignoring a lot of the smart, savvy moves made by one of baseball’s best front offices.
Despite their wealth, the Dodgers maintain a homegrown core and have identified and signed non-superstars who can help the team. One of those under-the-radar acquisitions has turned out to be the team’s best offensive player.
The story starts under former general manager Ned Colletti. He had the finances at his disposal and made several aggressive moves, including the acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Hanley Ramirez, and Yasiel Puig. However, this didn’t get the Dodgers to the World Series, and former Tampa Bay Rays executive Andrew Friedman took over prior to the 2015 season. Friedman had built a small-market power with the Rays, and many were eager to see what he could do with financial backing Tampa Bay could not give him.
The result of these combined efforts is a 71-31 juggernaut that is already the heavy favorite to represent the National League in the World Series, and it took the combined efforts of two front offices over several years to bring it all together.
Things begin first and foremost, with the Dodgers’ homegrown talent.
Homegrown Talent
All-world lefty Clayton Kershaw was the No. 7 overall selection in the 2006 MLB Draft and has developed into the most dominant pitcher in baseball.
On the position player side, shortstop Corey Seager was a first-round pick in 2012, and all he has done in his career so far is manage a top-three finish in NL MVP voting in his rookie season. Cody Bellinger, who has smashed 28 home runs as a rookie this season, was a fourth-round pick in 2013. Joc Pederson, who has shown power but struggled with his batting average, was an 11th-round pick in 2010.
And though he was not drafted, star closer Kenley Jansen was signed by the team in 2004 initially as a catcher, but the organization converted him to a pitcher and helped develop him into the dominant reliever he is today.
When you’re drafting superstars like this on both offense and pitching, you are providing your franchise with multiple cornerstones to build around at reasonable prices. That is precisely what the Dodgers have done.
Avoiding bad long-term contracts
For all the money they have spent, the Dodgers only have two $100 million contracts on the books. One is Kershaw’s, and the other belongs to Adrian Gonzalez, who was acquired via trade, not signed as a free agent. They have signed others, mind you — Greinke’s deal, for instance — but the Dodgers have been fantastic at avoiding albatross deals and maintaining long-term payroll flexibility.
Their approach to starting pitchers bears that out. Yes, they signed Greinke, and they’ve been linked to a whole host of other big-money names over the years. Ultimately, though, the deals they’ve inked have been veteran pitchers or foreign imports. Pitchers like Rich Hill and Brandon McCarthy — valued lower than many veteran counterparts, but clearly offering something — have been major contributors, albeit both have dealt with injury issues.
Foreign player signings
From Fernando Valenzuela to Hideo Nomo and Takashi Saito, the Dodgers have long been one of the best teams at signing foreign talent. They have continued with that success.
The Dodgers have focused on foreign imports like Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda — talented pitchers who would come fairly cheap by virtue of their age and lack of North American experience. They also have a gem in young southpaw Julio Urias, who was signed out of Mexico in 2012 and began dominating in the minors at the age of 16. There is the aforementioned Jansen, who was signed out of Curacao. Emerging reliever Pedro Baez was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2007.
And though he has struggled to match his excellent production from 2013 and 2014, Yasiel Puig was signed to a seven-year, $42 million deal out of Cuba and has given the Dodgers a strong return on their investment.
Emergence of surprising stars
Depth is really the name of the game with the Dodgers, and it goes for the offensive end, too. How else do you explain Justin Turner? A little-heralded free agent pickup prior to the 2014 season that anyone could have had, Turner was a versatile player who had never really stood out. Then he hit .340 in his first season. Then he hit 27 home runs in 2016. That allowed him to cash in with a $64 million deal, which he has followed up by hitting .362.
Then there’s Alex Wood, who, with a 2.17 ERA in 2017, has managed to out-Kershaw Kershaw. He was acquired in 2015 from the Atlanta Braves as part of a three-team trade, in which the Dodgers took on a significant portion of an iffy Hector Olivera contract to get better pieces from Atlanta. After an injury-plagued 2016, he has promptly become one of the league’s best pitchers, and a more than capable No. 2 option behind Kershaw.
Trades paying off
In addition to acquiring Wood in a trade, the Dodgers have brought in several other major contributors in deals they’ve made.
The Dodgers acquired Chris Taylor from the Mariners in a trade for pitcher Zach Lee. The former 5th-round pick out of Virginia has been stellar this season, batting .320 with 23 doubles and 12 home runs.
Yasmani Grandal was acquired from the Padres in the Matt Kemp trade and promptly became an All-Star in 2015. He followed that up with 27 home runs last season. This year the catcher has crushed 13 dingers while maintaining a steady .271 batting average.
Another acquisition that has worked out is the trade for Josh Fields. The Dodgers acquired Fields from the Astros last season and he has been a steady addition to the bullpen.
Have deep pockets helped the Dodgers find success quickly? Yes, without a doubt. But attributing their financial status as the only reason for their success is ignorant, as the Dodgers have stuck to manageable deals, focused on their homegrown talent and under-the-radar talent, and pulled off a number of savvy, unheralded trades and free agent signings that have led them to where they are now.
If the Dodgers bring home a World Series, don’t make the mistake of chalking it up to cash. Credit a very smart front office that has made several moves that are probably the envy of their 29 counterparts.
