'maybe You're In The Wrong Business.' Blake Treinen On How Teams View Dodgers' Spending

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Much has been made of nan Dodgers’ exorbitant spending, magnified by a brace of World Series titles for nan franchise, arsenic Major League Baseball enters nan last twelvemonth of nan existent corporate bargaining agreement.

The Dodgers unfastened 2026 pinch a grounds $381 cardinal payroll, while having complete $1 cardinal successful deferrals. As if signing Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández and Blake Snell, and extending Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith weren’t enough, nan nine erstwhile again opened up its wallet this winter, spending a mixed $309 cardinal connected four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and three-time reliever of nan twelvemonth Edwin Díaz.

Relief pitcher Blake Treinen, 1 of nan longest-tenured players connected nan Dodgers heading into his seventh play pinch nan team, did not mince words erstwhile asked astir really outsiders position nan organization.

“Perception is built from nan media and possibly owners that don’t for illustration what nan Dodgers are doing because they would person to do thing similar,” Treinen said earlier this week. “And I opportunity to that, ‘Maybe you’re successful nan incorrect business.’”

Treinen thinks much teams should walk nan measurement that nan Dodgers do.

“Is it a bad point that nan group who salary our checks and our salaries want a winning product?” Treinen said. “If you’re going to kick astir a squad consenting to do what it takes to win, past I deliberation you’re successful nan incorrect business. And, if you win, to opportunity that you suffer money by winning is simply a chaotic statement, truthful I deliberation nan cognition is much aliases little if you don’t for illustration what nan Dodgers are doing, either return a look successful nan reflector aliases look astatine nan group who aren’t putting a merchandise connected nan field.”

Treinen went connected to opportunity that teams don’t needfully request to beryllium lavish spenders successful bid to compete, pointing to really nan Milwaukee Brewers posted baseball’s champion grounds a play ago, pinch nan 22nd-highest payroll. The Brewers bested nan Chicago Cubs successful nan NL Central by 5 games, contempt having a payroll astir $100 cardinal little than their rival, and reached nan National League Championship Series.

“You don’t ever person to walk money to beryllium great, look astatine nan Brewers,” Treinen said. “But to opportunity that you can’t compete — for illustration they did — is simply a chaotic thing, because [they had] nan champion grounds successful shot past year. Draft and improvement is simply a large deal, a batch of teams person leaned into it. So, if you either put heavy successful 1 aliases nan other, and nan Dodgers person done a awesome occupation of doing some and that’s why players motion here. If you don’t for illustration it, past possibly find a caller business model.”

How nan Dodgers run has garnered immoderate praise — nan Padres’ Manny Machado and nan Phillies’ Bryce Harper weighed successful connected nan taxable early successful outpouring training — but nan beforehand agency wasn’t really seeking it out.

“We’re not looking externally for validation,” Dodgers wide head Brandon Gomes said earlier this period astatine Camelback Ranch. “The validation is winning championships and putting retired arsenic bully a squad arsenic we tin each and each year, and each we’re trying to do is get a small spot amended each and each season, pinch nan extremity of winning championships. [Our] coaching staff, our players I deliberation position it arsenic that. Good, bad aliases indifferent, nan outer worldly is thing we can’t interest about.”

Dodgers head Dave Roberts, speaking astatine Cactus League media day earlier this month, said nan fixation connected nan money spent makes group miss nan things they do well.

“It does get lost, nan things that we do well,” Roberts said. “Scouting and subordinate development, I deliberation we do arsenic good arsenic anybody successful shot … to get superstars to play good each night, to put retired a bully merchandise each azygous night, I deliberation we do a bully occupation astatine that.”

“That’s why nan biggest speech should beryllium that alternatively of a payroll question,” Roberts added. “Why are we bully for baseball? Because our players play nan crippled nan correct way.”