[mrkajz44]

Quite honest, I find that to be a pretty tired argument.

Yes, they acquired some players through trades because their farm system was good, but the fact that they have money is the primary reason they've built the team they have.

The Mookie Betts deal was 100% money fueled - the Dodgers were able to get it done because (a) they knew they could give Betts enough money to re-sign, making it basically a FA signing; and (b) they ate the terrible David Price contract as part of the trade. It was the Dodgers dollars that got that deal done.

Three teams had a luxury tax in 2021, for a total of $18.5M. The Dodgers luxury tax on their own? $17.0M. Yup, seems like money isn't really a factor here...

The Dodgers have burried $24M in the minors, $8M more than the second place team. It's easy to build a solid roster when you can afford to make huge mistakes with contracts and then just burry them if they don't work out. Other teams don't have the luxury.

Hell, the Dodgers could even afford to have a $30M pitcher sitting out (and maybe never play again) and their starting rotation is fine. That doesn't happen if you don't have the $ to get depth starting pitching.

When your payroll is double the major league average and $64M more than the second place payroll, you are absolutely trying to buy a championship.