MLB’s latest labor proposal may be aimed at buying time, but for the Dodgers it creates a very real planning problem.
The league is still staring down a December 1 deadline, when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires and a lockout could be declared. The two sides remain dug in.
Owners want a salary cap. Players do not appear willing to budge on that point.
MLB has already floated a few ideas in an effort to slow things down, and the newest one would push the start of a cap and floor back to 2028. The idea is to give clubs more runway to get their books in order before the new $258.2 million threshold takes effect.
That kind of delay may help teams that would need to trim payroll, but it does not solve the bigger standoff. The players, as the source material makes clear, are not going to accept a cap just because the league offers to wait a decade or more.
Still, if a cap after the 2027 season were somehow approved, the Dodgers would be among the teams hit hardest. Jack Harris of the California Post wrote that the “impasse has left big-spending teams like the Dodgers in a pickle this winter, as they try to bolster their rosters while also accounting for the potential need to become cap-compliant.”
According to Harris, the Dodgers have been operating with the idea that some kind of grace period could come between approval and implementation. That thinking has helped shape their approach, including shorter-term contracts such as the one they gave Kyle Tucker in January.
But that same uncertainty also limits how aggressive they can be right now. Harris noted that their payroll would climb even higher if they sign Tarik Skubal to a high AAV deal, which he is expected to receive. The bigger issue is what comes after that: the Dodgers’ 2027 payroll is already projected to be around $450 million, and under MLB’s latest proposal they would need to cut nearly half of that before 2028.
That reality could force the Dodgers to make painful choices next winter. Instead of adding freely, they may have to sort through their long-term commitments, decide which ones matter most, and move salary elsewhere.
For now, the effect is already showing up in how Los Angeles approaches spending. Even with players insisting a cap will never happen in baseball, the Dodgers and every other major spender still have to plan for the possibility.
In Other News...
Dodgers Fans Have A New Prospect Debate With A Fall Stars Twist
Major League Baseballs Fall Stars Game roster announcement gave Dodgers fans a fresh reason to keep an eye on the Arizona Fall League, with third baseman Chase Harlan and pitcher Luke Fox landing on the National League team. The showcase will be played Sunday at Salt River Fields and aired on MLB Network, giving the organization another chance to see two of its prospects on a bigger stage.
Now the debate shifts to who should join them, with fans voting on one more National League spot from a pool that includes Dodgers prospects Eduardo Quintero and Charles Davalan, along with Padres infielder Justin DeCriscio. For a player development system that has already put two names on the roster, the final choice adds a little extra intrigue for Dodgers followers who have been tracking the fall circuit closely. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Could Be Near A Tough Kik Hernndez Decision
Kik Hernndez has been one of the more familiar October pieces in the Dodgers recent run, a utility presence who has shown up in postseason after postseason since 2015 and given the club flexibility all over the diamond. Even with that track record, the offseason always has a way of forcing uncomfortable choices, and Hernndezs status is now part of that familiar roster churn as Los Angeles weighs how to reshape its bench and defensive depth.
One name that has surfaced in that conversation is Mauricio Dubon, the versatile defender most recently with the Atlanta Braves. Dubon would likely come at a higher salary, which only adds to the calculus for a Dodgers front office trying to balance value with familiarity, and while a move away from Hernndez looks increasingly possible, it is not yet official. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Could Lose A Bullpen Weapon To A Familiar Rival
The Dodgers have already made one major bullpen splash by landing Edwin Daz, and they are not likely to stop there as they keep looking for ways to deepen a roster built to chase another title. With Tarik Skubal expected to be a major winter target, Los Angeles is also being linked to a more immediate relief-market possibility in Padres left-hander Adrin Morejn, a pitcher who has quietly become one of the more interesting names in the division.
Morejn has been extended a qualifying offer by San Diego and has until November 17 to decide whether to take it or test free agency, which leaves the door open for a familiar rival to make a run at him. For the Dodgers, the appeal is obvious: pairing Morejn with Daz would give them another high-end bullpen look, while also turning a Padres weapon into part of the same late-inning mix that has long frustrated opponents in the National League West. [Read more 🡒]