Friedman on critics saying Dodgers ruining baseball: 'We don't think about that'

Ben Wrixon ·
Los Angeles, California December 3, 2024-President of baseball operations for the Dodgers Andrew Friedman talks about new pitcher Blake Snell during a press conference at Dodgers Stadium Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty

Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman isn't concerned with the narrative that his team's big spending is ruining baseball.

"We don't think about that at all," he said on "The Jim Rome Show."

"We think about the responsibility we have to our fans. They show up every night, they show up on the road. The passion they have for this team - we feel immense pressure to deliver for them."

Friedman's comments come days after the reigning World Series champions inked two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a five-year, $182-million contract to make their impressive roster even better.

Snell's contract, like the one Shohei Ohtani signed last offseason, leverages deferred money to help alleviate present-day costs. This tactic in particular has drawn the ire of opposing fans.

Friedman, however, is focused on fielding the best possible team.

"It's about continuing to reinvest," he said. "What we are shooting for, in our minds, is to make this a golden era of Dodger baseball."

Los Angeles, fresh off its second title in five seasons, is gunning to become MLB's first repeat champions since the New York Yankees in 2000.

The roughly $209.5 million the Dodgers have committed to payroll for next season is well below the competitive balance tax threshold of $241 million, per Spotrac.

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