The Los Angeles Dodgers, to nobody’s surprise, have the best record in Major League Baseball and have opened up a 12-game lead in the National League West. The trade deadline is just over a month away, and it’s a safe bet that the two-time defending World Series champions will be an active bunch.
They have had some injuries in their starting rotation, so it would make sense to go big for one of the top available arms. The first name that comes to mind is Tarik Skubal, of course.
The expectation is that Skubal will end up in Los Angeles. However, David Schoenfield of ESPN believes that this is something the Dodgers need to act on with a lockout looming.
“(Shohei) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been great and Justin Wrobleski keeps winning despite a low strikeout rate, but the health of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow remains a question. So there’s that, but there’s also an uncertain future for the Dodgers,” Schoenfield wrote. “If the labor negotiations eventually end with a salary cap being implemented, it won’t be as easy for the Dodgers to spend their way to World Series titles, so there’s added imperative to win now — and make a little history in joining the 1936-39 Yankees, 1949-53 Yankees, 1972-74 A’s and 1998-2000 Yankees as the only teams to win at least three straight World Series.”
Dodgers Need Tarik Skubal Now More Than Ever
Because the Dodgers have been so successful for so long, nobody is going to feel sympathy for them. But even those who dislike the Dodgers will mostly oppose a salary cap, and also understand that the Dodgers need Skubal now more than ever.
If a salary cap is implemented, the Dodgers may miss their chance to three-peat, provided that they do not win their third straight World Series title this coming October. The best way to ensure that does not happen is to go after Skubal, who would give them the best rotation in all of baseball and a great chance to win at least one more title.
The Dodgers always seem to have that urgency to pursue winning at all costs, but that becomes even greater with the threat of a salary cap. If that is added in the next CBA, the Dodgers may not have enough money available to sign Skubal in free agency, so it might be best for them to go all-in to try and land him at the trade deadline.
Salary Cap Would Change Everything
The Dodgers still have great financial resources, but a salary cap would curb those resources a bit. And there is also no guarantee that teams with less resources will actually spend money.
The Dodgers are simply a team that puts their money where their mouth is and make good moves to try and win a World Series each year. With a salary cap, that would be a little harder.
It may seem like a way to level the playing field on the surface, but there is no guarantee that a cap would actually work that way.
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