{"id":574748,"date":"2026-02-16T00:22:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/574748\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T00:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:22:16","slug":"dodgers-gm-brandon-gomes-responds-to-manny-machado-bryce-harper-comments-about-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/574748\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes responds to Manny Machado, Bryce Harper comments about spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming off an offseason in which the Dodgers<\/a> spent over $300 million<\/a> on just two free agents<\/a>, the two-time defending champions\u2019 luxurious spending has undoubtedly been a topic of conversation and consternation around Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n

However, when asked about the Dodgers\u2019 record-setting payroll Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper and the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado were complimentary of the way the Dodgers do business.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d Machado told reporters<\/a> at the team’s facility in Peoria, Ariz. \u201cThey figured out a way to do it. … I think every team has the ability to do it. I hope all 30 teams could learn from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Machado spent a half of a season with the Dodgers in 2018 before inking a $300-million contract with the Padres. That same winter, the Dodgers met with Harper, who eventually signed a $330-million contract with the Phillies. Harper shared the same sentiment as Machado when he spoke with reporters<\/a> in Clearwater, Fla.<\/p>\n

Read more: Plaschke: Yoshinobu Yamamoto must remain the calm in the Dodgers’ storm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI love what the Dodgers do, obviously,\u201d Harper said. \u201cThey pay the money, they spend the money. I mean, they\u2019re a great team. They run their team like a business, and they run it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes<\/a>, while speaking with media at Camelback Ranch Sunday, made it clear that his organization isn\u2019t searching for approval from any outside sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not looking externally for validation,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cThe validation is winning championships and putting out as good a team as we can each and every year, and all we\u2019re trying to do is get a little bit better each and every season, with the goal of winning championships. [Our] coaching staff, our players I think view it as that. Good, bad or indifferent, the external stuff is something we can\u2019t worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomes also credited Dodgers ownership for providing the financial resources to help the front office continue to bolster its roster each winter.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We\u2019ve had] incredible support from ownership,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always [been] in the position to address the needs that will help us go out and win another championship, so I think a lot of it is looking at what\u2019s needed in the roster and what\u2019s available. We\u2019ve been in the fortunate position to be able to acquire guys that fit that really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Roki Sasaki throws live BP\"Dodgers<\/p>\n

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws during a spring training workout on Sunday at Camelback Ranch. (Brynn Anderson \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Right-hander Roki Sasaki<\/a> took the mound in front of hundreds of fans Sunday at Camelback Ranch, throwing live batting practice to teammates Hyeseong Kim and Seby Zavala as he readies himself for his second season with the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old Sasaki threw a smooth 16 pitches, punching out the right-handed hitting Zavala, and inducing a pair of groundballs to shortstop from the lefty Kim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel healthy,\u201d Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton. \u201cAnd also, my mechanics are in a way better spot from last year, so I felt really good in the bullpen and in today\u2019s live BP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Sasaki is hoping to add to his pitch mix. He\u2019s been experimenting with a pitch that he describes as a \u201ccutter-slider-ish pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did throw the cutter-slider-ish pitch [today],\u201d Sasaki said. \u201c[I\u2019m] still not really sure what direction I want to take with the cutter-slider, but the feedback from the pitching coaches is that it was very good, so I\u2019d like to take this time during spring training to really hone in on the direction of my cutter-slider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomes has confidence that Sasaki will see success with a third pitch in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fully capable of it,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of really good [stuff from him], like the sinker, the cutter that he\u2019s throwing\u2026 Last year, I don\u2019t think he was ever in a great spot health-wise, really until the end of the year. All of the stuff we\u2019ve seen so far, he\u2019s looked really, really good. I mean, the bullpens have been exceptional. The pitch movements. He\u2019s throwing the cutter, sinker. He\u2019s having an expanded arsenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Injury updates<\/p>\n

Just days before opening camp, the Dodgers re-signed Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez and Evan Phillips to one-year contracts as they both recover from elbow injuries.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Gomes provided updates on both of their recoveries.<\/p>\n

Read more: Edwin D\u00edaz responds to Steve Cohen comments, settles into Dodgers’ ‘really good clubhouse’<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cKik\u00e9\u2019s progressing well,\u201d Gomes said of Hern\u00e1ndez, who had surgery to repair his left elbow in November. \u201cHe\u2019s in a place where he should start swinging here pretty soon. We\u2019re going to be really mindful of how we progress to this and making sure that when he comes back, that he\u2019s not only healthy, but he\u2019s healthy and ready to go. So, we\u2019ll kind of check it out week by week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

On Phillips, who had Tommy John surgery last June, Gomes said: \u201cSame thing. Sometime probably midseason. It all depends on how the build-up goes and if there are any slow-downs or hiccups, depending on once he gets going into the mound progression and the full [Tommy John] stuff, but he\u2019s feeling really good. Throwing looks great. Body looks great, so I think it\u2019s just being mindful and viewing him almost as like a trade-deadline acquisition in some way, shape or form. That’s kind of how we have it in our heads.”<\/p>\n

Staff writer Anthony Solorzano contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coming off an offseason in which the Dodgers spent over $300 million on just two free agents, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":574749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,2056,1207,14433,39,2271,1393,5953,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,1527,4,25,110,18,34041],"class_list":{"0":"post-574748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brandon-gomes","10":"tag-bryce-harper","11":"tag-camelback-ranch","12":"tag-dodgers","13":"tag-evan-phillips","14":"tag-hyeseong-kim","15":"tag-kike-hernandez","16":"tag-la","17":"tag-la-dodgers","18":"tag-ladodgers","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-losangelesdodgers","23":"tag-manny-machado","24":"tag-mlb","25":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","26":"tag-roki-sasaki","27":"tag-san-diego-padres","28":"tag-seby-zavala"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116077458875513028","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}