PHOENIX \u2013\u2013 Turns out, not everybody in baseball reviles the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 record-breaking spending.<\/p>\n
On Sunday morning, two of the game\u2019s biggest veterans, Bryce Harper of the Phillies<\/a> and ex-Dodger Manny Machado<\/a> now of the San Diego Padres, were asked about trying to compete with the defending two-time World Series champions.<\/p>\n And rather than voicing the typical complaints \u2013\u2013 about how the Dodgers are ruining baseball, and disrupting competitive balance with their $400 million-plus payroll \u2013\u2013 the two sluggers struck a decidedly different, almost defiant tone.<\/p>\n \u201cI f\u2013king love it,\u201d Machado told reporters at Padres camp<\/a>. \u201cI love it. I mean, honestly, I think every team should be doing it. They\u2019ve figured out a way to do it, and it\u2019s f\u2013king great for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Padres\u2019 Manny Machado smiles after a home run against Arizona at Petco Park, Sept. 28, 2025 in San Diego. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI love what the Dodgers do, honestly,\u201d Harper echoed at Phillies camp<\/a>. \u201cThey pay the money. They spend the money. They\u2019re a great team. They run their team like a business. And they run it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n In much the same way the Dodgers have downplayed external critiques over their roster construction in recent years, they didn\u2019t indulge in Sunday\u2019s contrasting comments from Harper and Machado, either.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really pay any attention to that at all,\u201d Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes<\/a> said later Sunday morning at Camelback Ranch. \u201cWe\u2019re not looking externally. The validation is winning championships and putting out as good a team as you can each and every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the points Harper and Machado raised illustrate another perspective about the Dodgers that many in the sport quietly maintain.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Both argued that other teams (and, reading between the lines, ownership groups) have the capabilities to challenge the Dodgers better and replicate their organizational approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI think every team has the ability to do it,\u201d Machado said. \u201cSo, I hope all 30 teams can learn from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEach team in baseball has an opportunity to do the same thing,\u201d Harper added. \u201cMaybe not at the upper echelon of money. But they can draft, they can develop, they can trade. I don\u2019t know, I think a lot of teams can do that in baseball. And they should.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillies\u2019 Bryce Harper celebrates after hitting a home run against New York at Yankee Stadium in July 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n Harper further highlighted the Dodgers\u2019 developmental system, calling it something \u201cpeople don\u2019t look at\u201d when complaining about the club.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir draft and their development is unbelievable,\u201d he said. \u201cThen they trade those guys for big-name guys, and they can spend the money. So I don\u2019t know, it bothers me when everybody talks about, \u2018The Dodgers are spending money.\u2019 No, they draft, they develop, they do it the right way, they understand what it takes to be the best team in baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Gomes cited that kind of organizational harmony when reviewing the team\u2019s latest blockbuster winter on Sunday. He said that while the team was \u201cin the fortunate position to be able to acquire guys that fit really well\u201d this winter \u2013\u2013 referencing the arrivals of Kyle Tucker and Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a> \u2013\u2013 he also noted \u201cthose guys being able to choose here, I think, speaks to (our) culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes cited organizational harmony when reviewing the team\u2019s latest blockbuster winter. MediaNews Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Dodgers were a topic elsewhere around the baseball world Sunday, including at Arizona\u2019s spring camp, where Diamondbacks owner Ken kendrick was also asked<\/a> about trying to compete with them as a National League West division rival.<\/p>\n Kendrick didn\u2019t deny the Dodgers\u2019 current standing atop the sport, calling them the \u201c900-pound gorilla\u201d in MLB\u2019s current hierarchy.<\/p>\n However, he also sidestepped any criticisms over their spending, instead making the case that \u201cthe way it works in the jungle, the gorilla doesn\u2019t win every fight.\u201d<\/p>\n That, fittingly, is the same message the Dodgers have been preaching among themselves so far in camp. They know how the rest of the sport views them. They know they are expected to complete a World Series three-peat. But they also know they\u2019re not invincible \u2013\u2013 that for however much money they spend, baseball still offers no guarantees.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Gomes said when asked if he believes in so-called World Series hangovers. \u201cI mean we did OK last year. I wouldn\u2019t say we played our best baseball all year. But I think a lot of it is coming in, making sure our guys are focused. It\u2019s incumbent upon all of us to continue to mind the little things and make sure that the attention to detail is there so there is no drop-off in intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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