MLB’s trade deadline has come and gone, and once again, the dominant storyline is that the Los Angeles Dodgers are breaking baseball. They acquired two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on Sunday and added left-hander Kris Bubic, an All-Star last season, on Monday.
The Dodgers’ backlash is a function of their on-field dominance that has produced back-to-back World Series titles with stars galore, huge payrolls even before the $1.1 billion in deferred contracts they owe, and a unique TV deal. The current roster has won a combined six MVPs and four Cy Young awards.
“Every team could trade for me,” Skubal told reporters Monday night. “I don’t sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done. It’s a winning [organization] … I really don’t sympathize with people that are complaining because the Dodgers do all the right things.”
Los Angeles’ dynasty has been a boon for its owners, but the revenue has also filtered down to small-market clubs via the club’s unprecedented revenue-sharing bill and luxury tax tab.
The Dodgers kicked in about $175 million toward revenue sharing last year and will be on the hook for more than $200 million in 2026, according to multiple people familiar with their finances. The outlay has helped prop up the finances of small market teams that lost their regional sports network deals. The revenue-sharing formula factors in the most recent three years of revenue, with the current season carrying half the weight.
