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A labor battle is officially brewing in Major League Baseball.And the Dodgers –– surprise, surprise –– are getting caught in the middle of the mayhem.Over the coming months, there will be a narrative-flinging rock fight between the league and the players’ union.A prolonged tug-of-war for the hearts and minds of fans over the owners’ recent proposal for a hard salary cap, and the union’s staunch stance against it. In the center of the crossfire, of course, will be the Dodgers.No other team is more symbolic of the current state of the sport. No other club, in this chess match of a negotiation, will be as big a pawn in a dispute that could threaten the 2027 season.There is their record-setting payroll.
Their back-to-back World Series titles.Their seemingly endless stream of resources and revenues, creating a modern-day dynasty with no clear end in sight.And already, the commissioner’s office has used the club as a prime example in its pro-cap messaging.The league invoked the Dodgers (and their hefty luxury tax bill) by name to refute an initial non-cap proposal from the MLBPA.
It used the Dodgers’ payroll (and, once again, luxury tax bill) to illustrate financial disparities it has argued necessitate bigger changes in the sport.Most recently, commissioner Rob Manfred even cited the Dodgers directly while discussing labor talks at the owners’ meetings earlier this month.“I think that the Dodgers understand there is a need to update the overall economic model in the industry and that the upside associated with that, in terms of growing the industry, growing the popularity of the sport, is big for large markets, small markets, owners and players in every way,” he said, according to ESPN.Again, none of this is surprising.But that doesn’t mean it’s gone unnoticed by an unamused Dodgers clubhouse.“Of course they’re always gonna go after the people spending the most,” said catcher Will Smith, who serves as the union representative for the...