Chris Russo is tired of the expensive Dodgers.
The ESPN personality ripped the two-time defending World Series champions after the franchise signed star outfield Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million deal, adding to their embarrassment of riches.
“It’s terrible for baseball,” Russo said during an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show.” “…I mean, how many guys do you want to sign them? … Their payroll last year with insurance was over $500 million.
“The Dodgers are not doing anything wrong in theory. They are playing by the rules, but the rules need to change. This is becoming a joke.”
Russo took issue with the Dodgers’ use of deferred compensation, which has helped them land talents like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Blake Snell, Tucker and others in free agency.
“The rules stink. They gave Ohtani all this money, but it’s all been postponed, so he’s basically making $10 million a year,” Russo said. “It gives them the best player in baseball at an incredibly low price, which means they can do whatever they want.”
The massive Tucker deal included $30 million in deferred money, bringing the Dodgers’ total future compensation well over $1 billion.
“You can’t tell me it’s good for the sport,” he said. “Good for LA, bad for baseball.”
Last winter, the Dodgers gave Snell $60 million in deferred money as part of a five-year, $182 million contract for the two-time Cy Young winner.
A year earlier, the Dodgers infamously signed Ohtani to a record $700 million contract, which pays him just $2 million per year over his ten-year contract, with $68 million per season deferred to be paid between 2034-43.
After the Tucker deal, the Dodgers are now expected to have a tax payroll of $413 million in 2026, according to Spotrac, putting them $96 million ahead of the Mets, the second-highest spending team.
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