The Dodgers did it again.
On Monday, the reigning World Series champions reportedly came to an agreement with closer Tanner Scott on a four-year, $72 million contract. Their victory in the Scott sweepstakes came just days after 23-year-old Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki announced he’d chosen the Dodgers.
An already fearsome roster just keeps building strength. And another back-end reliever is off the board as the Cubs try to round out their bullpen.
“People focus on the size of their payroll, and the [contract payment] deferments, stuff like that,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Saturday at Cubs convention. “But it’s just a great organization that’s kind of running on all cylinders.
“They do well in the draft, they do well internationally, they make smart trades, they do a good job finding value on the margins. And then, also, they can go sign major free agents, they’re doing a great job in Japan. So just focusing on the amount of money they spend does a disservice to an organization that’s running at a really high level.”
It’s undeniable, however, that in free agent negotiations, the amount of money a team is willing to spend is often the deciding factor. And it has a cumulative effect. When spending brings in stars and success, those also become recruiting tools.
The Cubs can sell their vibrant major city, rich history, facilities and technology. But they aren’t competing financially with the likes of the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees and Phillies.
“We don’t have the kind of resources that the Dodgers have, and we don’t have the kind of resources that the Mets have currently,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a sit down with the Sun-Times this weekend. “And there’s a couple other teams that are funding their baseball budgets from outside of baseball revenue. But we’re still one of the top teams, and we should be putting one of the top payrolls on the field every year.”
The Cubs’ financial books are not available, but Ricketts has consistently said that baseball revenue – from ticket sales, concessions, TV and sponsorships – determines the budget for the next year. Last season, the Cubs finished seventh in payroll (about $229.6 million), according to Spotrac.
This year, Ricketts said he expects payroll going into the season to be around the $241 million competitive balance tax threshold, give or take, “with a little bit of reserve for mid-season.”
Ricketts is not, however, considering changing the formula by injecting the budget with outside money, including revenue generated by ventures immediately surrounding Wrigley Field – even under special circumstances.
“It doesn’t add up to much,” Ricketts said. “The neighborhood cannot fund Kyle Tucker, let’s put it that way. Not even close.”
The three-time All-Star who the Cubs acquired from the Astros this offseason can hit free agency after this season. If president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer wanted to extend or re-sign Tucker, Ricketts said he’d “support” it.
Hoyer, however, would still have to find the money within the existing budget.
“Jed and his guys know every dollar at the Cubs, and they know what they have to work with,” Ricketts said. “Whether they put that into a free agent or put that into more research and development, or they put that into an extension of a current player, it’s all up to them.”
The reality is, those constraints mean that they’re going to keep getting out-bid for top free agents.
“We’re one of the top-six revenue teams, depending on what year, and so we should have a top-six kind of payroll every year,” Ricketts said. “We’re not going to be able to catch the Dodgers or the Yankees, or maybe not the Mets because of their situation, but we’ll have the resources to put a great team on the field.”
To do so, the baseball operations department will have to continue “finding value on the margins,” to borrow a phrase from Hoyer. That makes the blow of Sasaki going to the Dodgers, who were always considered the favorite, sting a little extra.
“It’s undeniable in that situation that the rich get richer,” Hoyer said. “But my point is, you miss the picture if you over-focus on the financial part.”
Coming over from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball through the amateur international free agent process, Sasaki was only allowed to sign a minor-league deal with a bonus that was limited by teams’ allotted bonus pool space. Sasaki’s bonus is $6.5 million, according to multiple reports.
Among the Dodgers’ many selling points, they also had international superstar Shohei Ohtani – who they signed to a 10-year, $700 million contract a year ago – to help with their pitch.
The Cubs got an in-person interview with Sasaki, but they weren’t one of the three finalists.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way we presented,” Hoyer said.
The “thousand of man hours” they spent on presentations, however, weren’t enough to win Sasaki’s favor.
The Dodgers won. Again.
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