Dodgers’ record spending caught in middle of mayhem as potential MLB lockout looms

Labor negotiations are underway between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.

And already, the Dodgers are getting caught up in the middle of the mayhem.

With the league’s current collective bargaining agreement set to expire Dec. 1 of this year, the MLBPA made an opening proposal to the league on Wednesday, in the first big step of new CBA negotiations.

In it, the MLBPA proposed the institution of a “competitive integrity tax” that would penalize lower-spending teams that don’t clear a $150 million payroll threshold. The MLBPA’s proposal also included raising the threshold at which bigger-spending teams are charged competitive balance taxes –– aka, luxury taxes –– from $244 million this year up to $300 million next season.

That, unsurprisingly, is where the Dodgers came in.

In a statement released to multiple outlets from MLB, the league pointed to the two-time defending champions to counter the MLBPA’s tax-related suggestions:

“The MLBPA’s proposal would reduce the amount [of money] transferred to lower-revenue Clubs, weaken the Competitive Balance Tax, and lead to even more payroll disparity than exists today. For example, under the Union’s proposal, the Dodgers would pay less in luxury tax payments, giving them an additional $70 million to spend on payroll.”

That the Dodgers have become a political football in what are expected to be heated CBA talks is not surprising.

In the last two years, their on-field success and unprecedented roster spending have raised concerns about MLB’s competitive balance and financial parity.

Last year, the team set a new MLB record with a $415 million luxury-tax payroll. This season, they are projected to top that total with $419.6 million currently on the books, according to Cots Baseball Contracts.

For reference: The Marlins have a league-low projected luxury-tax payroll this year of just $82 million –– less than one-fifth the Dodgers’ unprecedented amount.

“We appreciate the union making a set of proposals and we look forward to continuing the bargaining process and working towards solving the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us needs to be addressed,” the league’s statement said. “We understand their proposals are designed to benefit players. Unfortunately, they do not address and in fact exacerbate the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us we must address.”

There has been much speculation that the league will push for a strict salary cap in the new CBA –– as opposed to the soft cap currently in place that allows teams like the Dodgers to spend as much as they want, so long as they pay taxes on every dollar spent over the CBT threshold.

The expectation is that talks will be contentious and that the league will lock players out when the CBA expires at the start of December, potentially putting the start of next year under threat.

The Dodgers, because of their gaudy (albeit legal) spending and rise to dynasty status over the last half-decade, figure to loom large throughout the process.

One proposal in, they are already being invoked in negotiations.