3 Reasons why the Dodgers breaking the bank does not matter to the Braves
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed both free agents Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to deals that adds up to over $1 billion dollars. People are expecting the Atlanta Braves to make counter moves. Here is why the Braves will not let others dictate their plans.
All of the Dodger's signings were out of Atlanta's price range
The biggest contract currently on the Atlanta Braves roster is Austin Riley's 10 year/$212 million dollar deal. This deal is for one of the most conistent players Atlanta has seen in a long time and has finished top 10 in MVP voting three of his first five seasons.
Matt Olson's $168 million deal is not too too far behind Riley and was for 8 years. However, the third highest contract on the team is Ronald Acuna Jr.'s insanely cheap $100 million for arguably the best all around player in baseball.
This is to put into persepctive that Alex Anthopoulos has a formula that works well. He gets good players to sign as cheap of deals as possible to save room to build the team as a whole without an individual having to deffer the majority of their salary.
In addition, the Braves are built to win for a very long time still. Anthopoulos continues to plan for the future rather than set up potential failure following 2024 due to poor finincal decisions. Shoehei Ohtani, Yamamoto and Glasnow were never going to be Atlanta Braves players because Atlanta wouldn't pay the asking price.
The Dodgers are simply postseason rivals
This is a fact that often gets overlooked. The Braves and Dodgers are still considered the two best teams in the National League. As a result, the media wants to paint this picture they are competitng against one another. In reality, these two teams will only square off head to head in seven games next season.
Of course by season's end the Braves and Dodgers could be battling for the best record in the National League and the #1 seed. However these off-season acquisitions by the Dodgers don't play much of a factor in Atlanta's quest for a NL East title because they are not in the division and won't see each other often. This would be a different stroy if the Phillies made these moves.
If things play out like they should, the Braves and Dodgers most likely wouldn't meet until the NLCS and that is assuming either team is able to get past the Division series. We know anything can happen in October.
Dodgers rotation is still weaker
Shohei Ohtani will only serve as a DH next season and perhaps even some left field according to manager Dave Roberts. With him only being able to hit, that takes a little bit of value away from him in 2024. As things stand right now, he can return to the mound in 2025 but who says there won't be any setbacks?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12 year/ $325 million contract without pitching a single game in the MLB. Now obviously, we have seen success can translate and any time a pitcher has a sub 2.00 ERA at any professional level it is impressive but there is still a lot of pressure.
Putting Yamamoto in a market like the Dodgers where fans expect a World Series title immediatley could be intimidating for some. This could be the enviornment Yamamoto was looking for and he may thrive in it. However, there is also the possibility that if he is not as great as fans want him to be, he could fold under the pressure of the Hollywood lights.
The Dodgers starting rotation that just added Tyler Glasnow and Yamamoto has improved but is still weakened. Clayton Kershaw is a free agent and one would think the Dodgers would have already signed him if they wanted to keep him. So outside of Glasnow and Yamamoto the rest of the rotation is still a huge question mark for L.A. going into next season.