Josh Hart calls out Dodgers for pushing towards MLB lockout following Tarik Skubal trade

Add Josh Hart to the growing list of people who do not approve of the Dodgers landing yet another legitimate star.Baseball fans nationwide are bemoaning the deal that awarded the Los Angeles-based club sought-after pitcher Tarik Skubal, who won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in the American League, in exchange for minor league prospects.Hart said the Dodgers are about to single-handedly cause a lockout on X, while responding to the deal.Skubal, who is in the last year of his deal, was sent to L.A.for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith.Hope, Ryan and Smith were ranked as the Tigers’ No.

2, No.5 and No.

14 ranked prospects, respectively, prior to the deal.The Dodgers have become the face of baseball’s big market spending boom, and that has placed them at the center of some volatile conversations about a potential Major League Baseball lockout.A lockout is possible following the current 2026 campaign because the in-place collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Dec.1, and a new deal isn’t close to being signed off on.While some fans blame the Dodgers for what could happen after the 2026 season, the reality is far more nuanced than that.Over the last several years, the Dodgers have committed unprecedented amounts of money to star players while continuing to build one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the sport.In adding Skubal, the deal is projected to take the Dodgers’ total tax dollar amount to $430 million with a tax bill just over $180 million, both the highest in the league by far, per Spotrac.

A distant second are the Mets, who stand at $372 million with a hefty yet slightly more forgiving tax bill worth $117 million.That said, the Mets still have the highest payroll in baseball, which is north of $325 million, with the Dodgers behind at $311 million, and the Yankees are third at over $291 million.According to Spotrac, 21 of the MLB’s 30 teams are under $200 million, with six not even cracking $100 million, although five of the...