Washington Nationals: Forecasting the Bryce Harper sweepstakes
By Ron Juckett
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Another big-market team with endless resources with championship aspirations, the Los Angeles Dodgers are almost the perfect fit.
Close to Vegas? Yep. Chance to become a megastar? It is near Hollywood. What is the holdup?
As Mike Trout can tell you, being the best player in baseball does little good on the west coast. Although the Dodgers rake in million in television money, their channel’s distribution is terrible. Millions of pay-tv users in Southern California cannot watch them.
But, they have around $50 million coming off the books after 2018. The Dodgers can afford Harper if the can restructure their debt and stay in the good financial graces of Major League Baseball. (Long and complicated story.)
The Dodgers were on Stanton’s acceptable trade list, but never seriously counteroffered once the Yankees and Marlins got close. Los Angeles expects to be active in the free agent market this winter. Because the money for Harper is there today, Saturday is another story.
Oh, the competitive balance tax. Yep. Over by millions. Adding Harper’s expected annual average value to the mix complicates things further.
As with New York if Harper wants the Dodgers then it will happen. No Darryl Strawberry swoon here. Wherever Harper lands, it will be the most researched franchise in history.