Baking in the baseball oven right one is one huge concept—the salary cap. The concept isn’t new, and several sports have it in place, but not Major League Baseball. But right now the uproar for a salary cap has come because of one team alone: the Los Angeles Dodgers. For the last two seasons, they have been on a spending spree getting players they want for head-turning rates. Starting from Shohei Ohtani to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, this time getting Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and even Roki Sasaki, among others.

The Sasaki move just edged everyone out. Mark Teixeira, who was a part of the New York Yankees, too, raised concern for this new super team of Dodgers. On the Loud Outs show, he said that LA’s dominance can turn off fans. Well, for example, one could take Red Bull’s supremacy in F1 and how it turned users off the games. “What the Dodgers are doing is great, but this is getting ridiculous.” He called for things to be a little more fair. However, not everyone subscribes to this, at least not Andy McCullough from The Athletic.

Andy McCullough’s opinion on the Los Angeles Dodgers rivals

Andy McCullough appeared on the Dodger Blue podcast, and he began with a bang. “I thought the season was canceled! I thought the Dodgers just won the World Series,” said McCullough. It just highlights what the fans of other teams are feeling. He especially pointed out the San Diego Padres and how the LA Dodgers are stinging them the most. However, McCullough did mention that yes those who aren’t Dodgers fans are venting frustrations online, but the problem isn’t with the Dodgers but with their respective teams.

McCullough explained that the fans feel that what the LA Dodgers are doing is unfair because their teams are not aggressively doing something for their Dodgers. “I think that the lashing out at the Dodgers comes from a sense of defeat about their own team’s decisions essentially,” said McCullough. It’s something even Teoscar Hernandez mentioned recently. And truly it makes sense. Because if their team had, for example, been aggressive enough and grabbed the key players from the free market, how would the Dodgers even grab them?

However, that’s not to say the LA Dodgers don’t have advantages; they do. Even McCullough acknowledges that their TV deal, the endorsements, and Shohei Ohtani, the crowd-puller, all helped them get money. The fact is right now the LA Dodgers have built themselves up to be able to pull players not just with their money but with their winning roster. Just like they clinched Sasaki!

MLB teams used a unique courting approach to Roki Sasaki

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ dominance in MLB took another step with the addition of Roki Sasaki. Most thought he was for sure going to the Padres, given Yu Darvish, whom he calls his godfather, is there. However, against all that most thought, he went to the winningest team. But what’s interesting is what went on behind the scenes as teams vied for him to come to their lineup.

According to Jeff Passan, some clubs took a rather unique approach when courting the young fireballer. To connect with Sasaki, several teams asked him whether he wanted to be Kevin Durant or Michael Jordan of MLB. For those not versed in the basketball world, the question means whether Sasaki was interested in joining a dynasty or in building one. Kevin Durant, for example, left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors, who were dominant then. They also had MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the lineup. And there Durant did excel, winning two championships and two Finals MVPs in his three years with them.

But Michael Jordan is regarded now as the greatest basketball player of all time. He built his big empire in the Chicago Bulls. Jordan led them to six NBA titles through sheer grit. He faced several setbacks but prevailed, and he is now known as the GOAT! Finally, Sasaki chose to join the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reason? He mentioned the front office stability as the key factor.

Well, ultimately time will tell how he will perform on the roster. What do you think? Was he wise in going to an already-packed superstar roster? Let us know.