Dear MLB: If the Dodgers Can Always Buy the Best, the System Is Broken

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, adding yet another superstar to a roster that already looks more like an All-Star team than a Major League Baseball club. As a lifelong baseball fan, I don’t look at this trade and think, “What a brilliant move.” Instead, I find myself wondering what chance the rest of baseball really has. The Dodgers already possess one of the most talented rosters in the sport, and somehow they continue to add elite players while the gap between them and much of the league continues to grow.

Baseball has always had financial disparities between large-market and small-market teams, but what we’re witnessing today feels different. It feels like the competitive balance has shifted so dramatically that a handful of organizations can simply outspend almost everyone else whenever a superstar becomes available. The Dodgers deserve credit for operating aggressively and taking advantage of the rules as they exist. This isn’t about blaming Los Angeles. If the system allows you to improve your team, you should. The problem isn’t the Dodgers. The problem is the system Major League Baseball has created.

Think about what this means for fans in cities like Detroit. They spend years watching a young player develop into one of the best pitchers in baseball. They buy tickets, jerseys, and invest emotionally in the belief that their team is building toward something special. Then, just as that dream begins to feel attainable, their ace is wearing Dodger blue. How are fans supposed to stay invested when it feels like the biggest stars eventually end up with the same handful of franchises?

That’s why I’m about to say something I never imagined I would. I hope there’s a lockout after this season.

I don’t say that because I want baseball to stop. I don’t enjoy labor disputes, and I certainly don’t want fans to lose games. But sometimes meaningful change only happens when both sides are forced back to the negotiating table. If a lockout is what it takes to finally address the competitive imbalance in this sport, then maybe it’s exactly what baseball needs.

The next collective bargaining agreement has to tackle this issue head-on. Whether that means implementing a true salary cap paired with a meaningful salary floor, strengthening luxury tax penalties, revising revenue sharing, or finding another creative solution, something has to change. The current model simply isn’t healthy for the long-term future of the game.

Too many fan bases begin every season believing they have little to no chance of winning a World Series. That’s not good for attendance. It’s not good for television ratings. Most importantly, it’s not good for growing the sport. Fans should enter Opening Day believing their team has a legitimate opportunity to compete, not hoping that everything goes perfectly just to have an outside shot.

One of the reasons the NFL has become America’s most popular sport is because hope exists in nearly every city. Every September, fans convince themselves that this could be their year. Baseball has lost some of that optimism. While there are certainly exceptions, it increasingly feels like the same few organizations are positioned to land the biggest stars and dominate the championship conversation year after year.

Some people will argue that smart front offices can still compete without spending like the Dodgers. There is some truth to that. Organizations such as Tampa Bay and Cleveland have consistently found ways to overachieve through exceptional scouting and player development. But asking every other franchise to operate perfectly just to keep pace with one financial powerhouse isn’t a sustainable formula for a healthy league.

I love this game, and that’s exactly why I’m writing this. This isn’t about being anti-Dodgers. It’s about wanting a better version of Major League Baseball. Every fan deserves to believe that if their organization drafts well, develops talent, and makes smart decisions, they have a legitimate chance to compete for a championship.

Right now, that belief is becoming harder and harder to maintain.

If baseball doesn’t address this problem soon, the issue won’t simply be that the Dodgers keep winning. The real danger is that fans of so many other teams will eventually stop believing their own team ever had a chance.