4 Ways Twins Can Learn from Dodgers' 2024 World Series Win

[Cody Christie]

The Dodgers are on top of the baseball world after a dominant performance over the Yankees in the Fall Classic. In what ways can the Twins emulate the newly crowned World Series champions?

Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their first full-season championship since 1988 Wednesday night, clinching the 2024 World Series with a powerhouse roster and the organizational strength that makes them a perennial contender. The Twins, meanwhile, ended their 2024 campaign on a much different note, missing the playoffs after a season of inconsistency. While it's true that the Dodgers operate with a payroll that the Twins can only dream of, there are still valuable lessons to be learned. Here’s a look at the Dodgers’ championship formula and how the Twins can apply similar strategies to build sustainable success.

1. Emphasize Homegrown Talent with Patience and Precision
The Dodgers built a formidable core from within. Players like Gavin Lux, Walker Buehler, and Will Smith came through their system. They also find a way to blend in high-impact prospects like Dalton Rushing, Alex Freeland, and River Ryan. Los Angeles has mastered the art of scouting, development, and patience. Because of their veteran depth, they don’t rush their prospects, ensuring they’re fully prepared before hitting the big leagues.

Lesson for the Twins: Minnesota's farm system has slowly ascended national rankings in recent years, but the Dodgers’ method shows the value of patience and selective aggression. Minnesota has been aggressive with prospects like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. Both players are critical to the Twins' success but need time to develop properly. The Twins should be cautious with these top prospects, resisting the urge to accelerate their timeline and ensuring they’re ready to make an immediate impact when they arrive.

2. Optimize Veteran Players
Though they boast a strong farm system, the Dodgers aren’t afraid to fill gaps with proven veterans. They blend savvy veteran signings with their young core, like the recent additions of players such as Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández. Freeman was a World Series hero with home runs in four of the five games on his way to being named MVP. Hernández also came up with big hits all season and posted a 137 OPS+ in 154 games. These veterans bring experience and help younger players transition smoothly while adding stability to the roster.

Lesson for the Twins: The Twins are shopping in a very different price range when it comes to free agency, making it critical for them to hit on their signings. They brought in veterans like Carlos Santana for 2024, and he added value on both sides of the ball. A lesson here is to prioritize proven, consistent veterans who fit the clubhouse culture and make an impact in critical situations. Paul Goldschmidt could be a great fit if the Twins look to boost first base for 2025. Finding the right mix of leadership and production is vital in nurturing a competitive environment.

3. Pitching Depth is Non-Negotiable
The Dodgers’ pitching depth has been a hallmark of their success for years. Injuries inevitably hit every rotation, but Los Angeles seems to have an endless supply of arms. They rely on a mixture of established starters, promising young arms, and relievers who can step into high-leverage roles. LA won the title with Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, and Clayton Kershaw on the injured list. In 2024, their deep rotation ultimately carried them through to the title, demonstrating just how vital a strong pitching infrastructure can be.

Lesson for the Twins: The Twins dealt with injuries to Joe Ryan and Anthony DeSclafani and inconsistency across the bullpen, which shows the importance of depth. Developing pitchers like David Festa and Zebby Matthews is essential. Three pitchers are also closing in on the big leagues, which could be significant assets in 2025. However, the Twins need to expand on this approach, investing in talent that can step up when key pitchers go down. Young pitchers can be volatile, but the Twins pitching pipeline is starting to produce live arms on a regular basis. 

4. Innovative Front Office Thinking
The Dodgers’ front office blends analytics with scouting, finding value in overlooked players while keeping an eye on high-potential stars. They’ve shown a willingness to push boundaries with player development, maximizing each player’s unique strengths. Los Angeles has also used a deep farm system to add critical players through trades. This approach allows them to maintain a competitive edge without exclusively relying on blockbuster signings (although those signings certainly help). 

Lesson for the Twins: Derek Falvey and the Twins front office has faced scrutiny after a disappointing season, and there are organizational changes on the horizon with Thad Levine’s departure. Whoever is steering the ship must take a page from the Dodgers’ playbook, especially regarding a willingness to trade prospects for big-league additions. Identifying under-the-radar talents or reinventing veterans can bridge the payroll gap. Investing in player development, particularly for hitting under new coach Matt Borgschulte, can optimize production from younger players like Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Trevor Larnach.

The Dodgers’ success in 2024 offers a blueprint that doesn’t solely rely on payroll. They’ve cultivated a unique blend of homegrown talent, veteran leadership, and depth that can withstand the rigors of a long season. While the Twins operate on a tighter budget, they can emulate the Dodgers’ philosophies by prioritizing player development and maximizing pitching depth.

---

What is the most essential trait the Twins can take from the Dodgers? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

View full article

[LambchoP]

The only thing the Twins can learn from this years world series is that unless you're a rich team, you've got no chance. Look at the final four teams. Except for CLE (who never had a chance) the other three teams of NYT, NYM and LAD were the three highest payrolls in baseball. The Dodgers entire lineup was MVPs and all stars. They have single players that are being paid more money than ENTIRE MLB teams! How is a small to mid market team supposed to compete with that? With the construction of these "super teams" the last few years with record breaking payrolls, I'm guessing we're going to see the same 3-5 teams in the championships every year, which is not good for the sport. They will never institute a payroll cap, but they need to find some way to make the game somewhat fair .

[NYCTK]

Some things I've heard about complained here constantly: 

1. Position flexibility - The Dodgers move people around the field constantly. This is what good teams do. Having a lot of players with positional flexibility is not a weakness. 

2. Set Bullpen Roles - The Dodger had a good bullpen that was made better because of Roberts ability to use the better relievers in high leverage spots regardless of their innings. Take a look at Phillips and Treinen's usage and it's not limited to the 8th and 9th innings. 

Criticizing Rocco for managing in a way that made the Dodgers better is foolish. The players failed him more than he failed the players. 

And most importantly, the Dodgers got rid of Manuel Margot before he played a single game with them. Sadly, the Twins did not follow their lead :-(

[DJL44]

The Dodgers also didn't worry about set roles in the bullpen. Use the best pitcher for the game situation.

[NYCTK]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The Dodgers also didn't worry about set roles in the bullpen. Use the best pitcher for the game situation.

I don't understand some fans desire for far more rigidity in the team. If you can't pitch your best reliever in the 7th inning because he's a head case that pouts about not getting a light show, you should either spend more on sports psychiatry department, or trade his bum ass away. I'm not even saying this is the case with Duran, but this is what many Twins fans believe about him, or at least here. 

[Eris]

Fundamentals. The Dodgers played mostly fundamentally sound baseball during the WS. The Yankees mostly did not. If the Yankees had played mistake free baseball 2 of the games might have had a different outcome. 

[Parfigliano]

There is no way to ignore that having a $300+ million payroll is a big head start.

[bean5302]

The idea the Twins can learn from the Dodgers is pretty out there. Minnesota does not have even 1/2 the resources Los Angeles does so the Twins have to build their team a different way.

Top hitters by WAR
*Shoehei Ohtani - 10yrs $700MM 9.1 WAR
**Mookie Betts - 13yrs $392MM 4.4 WAR
Freddie Freeman - 6yrs $162MM 4.0 WAR
*Teoscar Hernandez - 1yr $24MM 3.5 WAR
*Miguel Rojas - 2yrs $11MM 2.8 WAR
Will Smith - 10yrs $140MM 2.7 WAR
Max Muncy - 2yrs $24MM 2.4 WAR
*Free agent acquisitions
**Expensive, high profile trades
Every single one of those players is locked up on contracts. None of them is pre-arb. None of them are in arbitration. Over 1/2 of the players and 70% of the WAR came from outside the organization.
That's $1.4 BILLION in contracts.

The Twins cannot play that game.
Top pitchers by WAR
**Tyler Glasnow - 5yrs $137MM 3.8 WAR
*Yoshinobu Yamamoto - 10yrs $300MM 2.8 WAR
Gavin Stone - OMG, a player who isn't locked up. He's pre-arb! 2.0 WAR
**Jack Flaherty - 1yr $14MM 0.8 WAR
Clayton Kershaw - 1yr $10MM
Add another $500MM or so

So you know, if the Twins were to hand out $2 BILLION in contracts, they'd likely have the same kind of depth the Dodgers have. They cannot learn the "unlimited payroll" skill.

 

[Brandon27]

Copying on how another organization does with their team doesn't work out all the time 

[1985Fan]

Dodgers pitching was three solid starters and a deep bullpen. The arms in the bullpen were effective, not just high velocity. Dodgers BP was deeper and better than Yankees. If the Twins only learn one thing, invest in the BP! It doesn’t cost as much as SP and is a required post season weapon. There are enough starters in the pipeline that should allow FO to go after proven relief guys. Mix in some internal arms so there is depth to withstand injuries and ineffectiveness. 
 

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I don't understand some fans desire for far more rigidity in the team. If you can't pitch your best reliever in the 7th inning because he's a head case that pouts about not getting a light show, you should either spend more on sports psychiatry department, or trade his bum ass away. I'm not even saying this is the case with Duran, but this is what many Twins fans believe about him, or at least here. 

I think they should just give all their relievers light shows. Light shows are fun. Why can't we get a light show in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th? Also provides more work for non-baseball players as creative types have to come up with new light shows for each reliever. I'm failing to see the downside. More light shows!

[EGFTShaw]

Several comments.

Learn from does not mean copy necessarily.

Money helps to get you to happiness but cannot necessarily buy happiness.

Mets 2023 for example
SD 2023 as another example
But then again LAD took their examples and did it better. 

1) Scouting, Scouting plus Developing, Developing your own talent.  The consistently successful teams are built this way. See Tampa more years along with the Dodgers in the past 10-15 years.
[Note: Scouting to me is both human and analytical data driven]

2) Key acquisitions.  This is also attached to scouting. The Rainmaker, (BAD), Carols "Black Magic Woman" Santana Good as well as Nelson "Da" Cruz.

3) Pitching it feels to me is the most volatile aspect. I dread most free agent pitching acquisitions cuz they usually blow up for one reason or another.  TylerG did not help the LAD this post season.  But counterpoint would Mad Max who went to the Nats and was incredible or JustinV in Houston.

I like much of our pitching pipeline now.  Our staff as to HONESTLY evaluate every pitcher and how can we make them better than the year before; every year.  Also we need to stop being wishy washy and HOPE this guy becomes a starter.  You should have a pretty good idea of your home grown guy by the time he gets to AAA.

Would I take an Ace, (not simply a #1, but an actual Ace), the guy who can stop a losing streak when it is happening.  The guy who craves the ball in a Game 7.  The guy who is a pitching version of Juan Soto.

Absofreakinglutely.

Just don't know who that really is and where to get him.

So Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SJW, Festa, Zebby and more have me comfortable with our pitching with a PLUS 1 if the are clearly an ACE, 1 or 2.

4) Front Office:  I think our FO has the ability to be creative but are also handicapped by the owners.  But f-ck the MLB GM/FO Box and just do what you think should be done to build a team that has a shot.

 

[chpettit19]

Point 1- Their "core" is not Gavin Lux and Will Smith, it's Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Twins can't learn from that. They weren't "patient" with Lux, they tried to play him early and he failed then he got hurt. The Twins have that same situation with their prospects, they just don't have the ability to cover it up as well. The Dodgers just weren't particularly patient with Will Smith. He played 2 full minor league seasons for them before debuting. Although, I do agree that building from within is a key for the Twins. But literally every major league baseball organization tries to do that. Literally 100% of them. That is not a lesson the Dodgers are teaching anyone.

Point 2- Optimize veterans? That's how you want to describe Freddie Freeman's performance for the Dodgers? They optimized him? Come on now. He's a freaking first ballot hall of famer. They didn't optimize anything, they acquired a top 10 player in baseball. That's not a lesson the Dodgers are teaching anyone. Everybody knows it's smart to acquire the best of the best if you can afford it.

Point 3- Pitching depth. Yes, everybody knows pitching depth is vital. "You can never have enough pitching" is posted on these threads basically daily. But, again, that's not a lesson the Dodgers are teaching anyone. Everybody knows that already.

Point 4- Innovative front office thinking? Do you have an example? You claim they push boundaries but don't explain how at all.

I think the Dodgers are the new kings of combining brains and spending after Theo retired from running teams, but they aren't doing anything other teams haven't done before. There are still terribly run teams that spend big (Angels) and medium (Rockies), but there are very few teams left that think they can just blindly spend on big name players and succeed. Cohen quickly learned his lesson and went out and hired one of the smarter baseball minds in the game. The Dodgers are very well run and will continue to be good for a very long time. But they're not doing anything earth shattering.

[Riverbrian]

I have said this for years. The Dodgers are bullet proof and they are the only organization that I would be willing to call bullet proof. If they don't make the playoffs in a given year... I'll be shocked. They are the only team that would shock me if they didn't make the playoffs in a given year. 

Does anyone ever wonder how a team that consistently drafts at the end of each round can build a farm that is consistently producing high quality fruits and vegetables?

They grew quite a few pineapples. Jordan Alvarez came from the Dodgers, Oneil Cruz came from the Dodgers, Seager, Urias, Bellinger, Buehler, Will Smith have come from the Farm amongst quite a few others. More recently... Busch was a Dodger and a pretty nice looking prospect for the Cubs. Pepiot and Deluca brought Glasnow to town. Verdugo, Downs and Wong was enough to bring Mookie Betts to town. Ruiz and Grey brought Turner and Scherzer to town. 

I'm not diminishing the money they spent which the Twins will never come close to competing with... But while you are watching the money and focusing on it... you are missing what the Dodgers are doing without money... with pure simple player development. Creating players that not only help the team when they are needed but creating players that other teams want that they use to acquire players. They trade prospects all the time and always have a bus load coming every single year. 

Again I'm not diminishing the money spent... that kind of money is a huge advantage to the teams who can spend money. But... Please... While you are watching the money... please take note of the bad money as it falls off the back of the truck... along with all that cheap talent that they grew themselves.   

Development and Money is a tough combination for teams to compete with. The Dodgers are top of the league in both. Which = Bulletproof. 

It's why the Angels can't do it with money alone. They just can't seem to develop anyone who helps them or interests other teams in a trade.  

What can the Twins do that is Dodger like? DEVELOP TALENT!!! 

[DocBauer]

The Twins FO has to self scout better than they have. A few years ago let pen arm Anderson...believe that's right...rather than give him a shot. The Twins could have BOTH Stewart and Jeff Hoffman in the pen but they let Hoffman walk despite a good spring. 

While we love blaming him for everything that went wrong in 2024, Margot hit well against LH arms and really set the table at times through the summer months. But he was never supposed to have 343 PA. But there he was daily for weeks at a time when injuries hit. Meanwhile, former 4th round draft choice Keirsey sat in AAA, a reportedly much better defender, with more speed, and a LH bat with some power that didn't get a shot until the season was over. Why? Maybe he would have stunk. Maybe Keirsey just isn't destined to play MLB. But until he gets a shot to see if he can be a useful option, he's just a guy at AAA putting up great numbers.

But better depth and better use of veteran players to help augment young pitchers and young position players? That takes $, not just smarts.

You need some smarts to go along with $, and for the most part, I think the Twins FO is pretty bright, even if I don't always agree with them. But there's nothing the Twins FO doesn't already know that the Dodgers mysteriously hold in secret.

[tony&rodney]

The money completely defeats any comparison. Whether we watch a Dodger drafted stalwart, Clayton Kershaw ($5M for 30 innings), or a guy they acquired via trade,Tyler Glasnow ($32M and injured) cheer on their teammates the money is double for the Dodgers. Congratulations to the Dodgers. I think the Twins could be aggressive towards building a better team. However, there aren't really any lessons to learn from the Dodgers that are not already known. What has Falvey learned in the last seven years that he can apply this offseason?

[bean5302]

50 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

...While we love blaming him for everything that went wrong in 2024, Margot hit well against LH arms and really set the table at times through the summer months. But he was never supposed to have 343 PA...

Margot did not hit well against left handers, especially for a low value defensive position (corner outfielder), he didn't even hit adequately. Also, Margot was not brought in as a corner outfielder. He was brought in to supplement Byron Buxton when Buxton couldn't play (Buxton missed starting 76 games) and to platoon for lefty corner outfielders which would have pushed Margot over 100 games and 400 PA. Anybody thinking Margot was slated for less than 400 PA this year when the Twins acquired him is fooling themselves.

Margot was basically league average at .269/.322/.391 OPS .713 wRC+ 103 against lefties. Worse than Max Kepler's .273/.305/.416 OPS .720 wRC+ 104, FWIW.

Beyond the whole "platoon against lefties" argument in general is the fact you can't platoon against left handed pitching since about 80% of innings go to right handed pitchers. Even if you're trying to platoon, most plate appearances will always come against RHP for a regular player, and Margot was a black hole against RHP. In fact, the Twins desperately tried to keep Margot out of the lineup against RHP, and he still had 172 PA against RHP to 171 PA against lefties.

[DocBauer]

9 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Margot did not hit well against left handers, especially for a low value defensive position (corner outfielder), he didn't even hit adequately. Also, Margot was not brought in as a corner outfielder. He was brought in to supplement Byron Buxton when Buxton couldn't play (Buxton missed starting 76 games) and to platoon for lefty corner outfielders which would have pushed Margot over 100 games and 400 PA. Anybody thinking Margot was slated for less than 400 PA this year when the Twins acquired him is fooling themselves.

Margot was basically league average at .269/.322/.391 OPS .713 wRC+ 103 against lefties. Worse than Max Kepler's .273/.305/.416 OPS .720 wRC+ 104, FWIW.

Beyond the whole "platoon against lefties" argument in general is the fact you can't platoon against left handed pitching since about 80% of innings go to right handed pitchers. Even if you're trying to platoon, most plate appearances will always come against RHP for a regular player, and Margot was a black hole against RHP. In fact, the Twins desperately tried to keep Margot out of the lineup against RHP, and he still had 172 PA against RHP to 171 PA against lefties.

I don't disagree with most of what you stated at all. He wasn't good defensively at all, save a handful of decent plays. And that pretty much eliminated from CF. I agree with all of that, as well as not liking or wanting another version of him getting the number of PA he received. I think I was pretty clear on that, and have been previously as well.

I was simply stating that he was about league average, or slightly above, when facing LHP as a hitter. And that was the role he was SUPPOSED to play. He didn't start the season well, or end it well, but while I don't have the numbers present, he was more effective through June, July, and I believe part of August. There were a couple stretches where he set the table and had some key hits in that time frame.

But again, IMO, it goes back to better internal scouting as well. In his case, just because he was a veteran doesn't mean he should have been playing as much as he did when the results against RHP were so abysmal. When someone doesn't due a good job, he shouldn't be placed in those positions when there just MIGHT be someone available who'd be better. I think ignoring situations and opportunities like that are stubborn short sightedness by the FO. It's one of the few weaknesses I see from those in charge.

[Paul Walerius]

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

The idea the Twins can learn from the Dodgers is pretty out there. Minnesota does not have even 1/2 the resources Los Angeles does so the Twins have to build their team a different way.

Top hitters by WAR
*Shoehei Ohtani - 10yrs $700MM 9.1 WAR
**Mookie Betts - 13yrs $392MM 4.4 WAR
Freddie Freeman - 6yrs $162MM 4.0 WAR
*Teoscar Hernandez - 1yr $24MM 3.5 WAR
*Miguel Rojas - 2yrs $11MM 2.8 WAR
Will Smith - 10yrs $140MM 2.7 WAR
Max Muncy - 2yrs $24MM 2.4 WAR
*Free agent acquisitions
**Expensive, high profile trades
Every single one of those players is locked up on contracts. None of them is pre-arb. None of them are in arbitration. Over 1/2 of the players and 70% of the WAR came from outside the organization.
That's $1.4 BILLION in contracts.

The Twins cannot play that game.
Top pitchers by WAR
**Tyler Glasnow - 5yrs $137MM 3.8 WAR
*Yoshinobu Yamamoto - 10yrs $300MM 2.8 WAR
Gavin Stone - OMG, a player who isn't locked up. He's pre-arb! 2.0 WAR
**Jack Flaherty - 1yr $14MM 0.8 WAR
Clayton Kershaw - 1yr $10MM
Add another $500MM or so

So you know, if the Twins were to hand out $2 BILLION in contracts, they'd likely have the same kind of depth the Dodgers have. They cannot learn the "unlimited payroll" skill.

 

Dusty Baker would have had the Twins in the WS this year.   Would they have won? Probably not but spending 2 billion on contracts is not needed to win.   They have some big contracts too.   

[bean5302]

27 minutes ago, Paul Walerius said:

Dusty Baker would have had the Twins in the WS this year.   Would they have won? Probably not but spending 2 billion on contracts is not needed to win.   They have some big contracts too.   

Dusty Baker has managed a team for 26 years and made the World Series once. Ever. 

[D.C Twins]

and umm...#5. Spend money on talent

[Paul Walerius]

On 10/31/2024 at 6:28 PM, bean5302 said:

Dusty Baker has managed a team for 26 years and made the World Series once. Ever. 

I stand by what I said.

[FargoFanMan]

On 10/31/2024 at 10:23 AM, LambchoP said:

The only thing the Twins can learn from this years world series is that unless you're a rich team, you've got no chance. Look at the final four teams. Except for CLE (who never had a chance) the other three teams of NYT, NYM and LAD were the three highest payrolls in baseball. The Dodgers entire lineup was MVPs and all stars. They have single players that are being paid more money than ENTIRE MLB teams! How is a small to mid market team supposed to compete with that? With the construction of these "super teams" the last few years with record breaking payrolls, I'm guessing we're going to see the same 3-5 teams in the championships every year, which is not good for the sport. They will never institute a payroll cap, but they need to find some way to make the game somewhat fair .

This is such a sad tired argument. What teams win the World Series? The team playing the best baseball. Period. Does money help? Yes. It helps you play the best baseball. It does not predetermine who wins the World Series. The Yankees held a top 3 payroll from 1999 to 2017. WS wins- 3. Not even an appearance from 2010-2023. 2 of those were from a core that was built in the early 90’s that got expensive by 1999. Not with extravagant FA spending. A top 3 payroll has won the World Series 5 times in the last 20 years. Boston was 3 of those. The dodgers had a top 3 payroll in 10 of the last 11 years and have won 2. The Astros had a top 3 payroll 1 year in the last 10 years. That was this year. What happened this year was the first year top 3 payrolls met each other in the WS in the last 25 years. Gotta play the game. The Twins can’t spend like the Yankees and dodgers. Do all the other 28 teams complain about it or do they find other ways to win? It’s professional sports. Not a T-ball league. If the Twins played baseball like the Yankees and dodgers then they would have been right there with them. Also, these two ownership groups happen to be the most aggressive as well. Willing to push all their chips into the team. They compete for  WS championships. The twins compete for division championships. 

[Major League Ready]

21 hours ago, FargoFanMan said:

This is such a sad tired argument. What teams win the World Series? The team playing the best baseball. Period. Does money help? Yes. It helps you play the best baseball. It does not predetermine who wins the World Series. The Yankees held a top 3 payroll from 1999 to 2017. WS wins- 3. Not even an appearance from 2010-2023. 2 of those were from a core that was built in the early 90’s that got expensive by 1999. Not with extravagant FA spending. A top 3 payroll has won the World Series 5 times in the last 20 years. Boston was 3 of those. The dodgers had a top 3 payroll in 10 of the last 11 years and have won 2. The Astros had a top 3 payroll 1 year in the last 10 years. That was this year. What happened this year was the first year top 3 payrolls met each other in the WS in the last 25 years. Gotta play the game. The Twins can’t spend like the Yankees and dodgers. Do all the other 28 teams complain about it or do they find other ways to win? It’s professional sports. Not a T-ball league. If the Twins played baseball like the Yankees and dodgers then they would have been right there with them. Also, these two ownership groups happen to be the most aggressive as well. Willing to push all their chips into the team. They compete for  WS championships. The twins compete for division championships. 

I don't think anyone would debate that a team can spend a lot and fail.  It's no guarantee.  In the case of the 2024 Dodgers, they were able to acquire their most impactful players because of a revenue advantage.  The players that produced more than 2 WAR are listed below.  The Twins and most other teams had absolutely no chance of landing these players.  The 2024 Dodgers provide very little insight into how the MN Twins can/should build a winning roster. 

2024  Dodgers		WAR	$
	Shohei Ohtani	9.1	46.7
	Mookie Betts	4.4	30.0
	Freddie Freeman	4	27.0
	Teoscar Hernández	3.5	23.5
	Miguel Rojas	2.8
	Will Smith	2.7
	Max Muncy	2.4
	Tyler Glasnow	3.8	25
	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	2.8	13.33
	Gavin Stone	2	2
			167.53

[FargoFanMan]

I agree with your argument. It’s no way the Twins can model themselves. It’s a great way to win now but as we seen with the Yankees of the 2000’s these contracts will soon weigh them down. Betts and Freeman will soon be dead weight and Ohtani won’t be a $46M player forever and poses an albatross at some point when his skills start to diminish even mildly. I mostly made the argument of people constantly complaining that baseball isn’t fair and they should have a salary cap. I don’t see that happening anytime soon and baseball is such a unique game with a long season where spending the most doesn’t guarantee anything. I love how there are avenues for small and mid market teams to compete even though there are big discrepancies in spending. It also allows for your stars to remain with your teams with these big guaranteed contracts. Which is what hamstrings these big spenders when those contracts flip over. MLB is not the NFL and that’s what I love. For every Pirates or A’s team there are the Browns or Lions of the NFL. Sports aren’t fair  but with the right system and group effort you can make a run like the 2015 Royals or the 2023 Lions. MLB is just balanced in a different way. That was my main argument. I mostly agreee with you!