Cody Bellinger defends Dodgers’ spending amid controversy

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been scrutinized heavily over the last few years for one reason: their spending habits. Using what seems to be a bottomless wallet, the Dodgers have routinely signed big-name free agents every offseason. Whether it’s local stars or overseas sensations, it feels like LA always gets the top stars every offseason with big contracts.

That, of course, has made a lot of their detractors around the league furious. There’s a lot of uproar about the Dodgers’ exorbitant spending, calling for new rules to curb the spending of teams like them. If you ask former Dodger Cody Bellinger, though, there’s nothing wrong with how the Dodgers use their money.

“I would think it would be bad for baseball if they’re making all this money and they’re pocketing it and not putting it into the organization and they’re not putting the best product out on the field,” Bellinger said, per Gary Phillips.

The Dodgers’ spending spree is something that most players in the league want to happen. LA spends every penny it can trying to build the best team in the league. You can’t say it doesn’t work, either: the Dodgers are back-to-back World Series winners and are primed to take home the pennant again in 2026.

Other teams are following in the Dodgers’ footsteps and are trying to break the bank themselves. The Toronto Blue Jays, who battled the Dodgers in the World Series this offseason, went big this offseason and signed Dylan Cease, among other players. The Yankees signed Bellinger to a massive five-year deal, while Bellinger’s former team, the Cubs, signed Alex Bregman to his own multi-year deal.

The Dodgers are not letting other teams catch up to them, though. Even after winning the World Series, the Dodgers are adding to their already star-studded lineup by signing free agent Kyle Tucker. 

The Dodgers’ ability to spend on multi-year deals has caused fans to push for a salary cap to limit the spending of MLB teams. As Bellinger points out, though, “you can’t change baseball forever because a team did the right thing for a while.”