Jed Hoyer gave Cubs another reason to fire him in defense of Dodgers
By Austin Owens
Since Jed Hoyer took over as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs back in 2012, the organization's success has been limited. The Cubs have been to the playoffs five times in the past twelve seasons and did capture one World Series title in 2016. However, Hoyer allowed practically the entire core of that championship team to take their talents elsewhere.
The past few seasons, it feels like Hoyer has done very little to put the Cubs in a position to contend again. Chicago has missed the playoffs four consecutive years now and has had yet another quiet offseason this winter. Just to pour salt on the wounds of Cubs fans, Hoyer is defending the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Hoyer defends Dodgers spending
Unless you are a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, you are getting annoyed by the amount of money that organization is shelling out to free agents. Just last year, the Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani a 10-year, $700 million deal. Although most of that money is deferred, it is a ridiculous amount of money to commit to.
Most organizations would tone down their spending after a hefty deal like this but the Dodgers have done just the opposite. This winter alone they have re-signed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to a three-year deal worth $66 million, added infielder Hyeseong Kim for $12.5 million across three years and brought in starting pitcher Blake Snell for the next five seasons for a measly $182 million.
The point of listing each contract above is to emphasize that the Los Angeles Dodgers have become the team they are by spending an absurd amount of money that no other franchise can afford to do, even the New York Yankees. Jed Hoyer however would disagree.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today tells us that Hoyer actually applauds the Dodgers for the way their organization is run. Hoyer claims that fans only focus on the massive contracts the Dodgers give out, but they also draft well, make smart trades and maneuver the international pool efficiently. This seems to be an oblivious way of thinking and if Hoyer sees nothing wrong with the way the Dodgers are manipulating Major League Baseball, he might not have a spot as a front-office executive in the future.
By no means is the Dodgers organization incompetent in doing the things Hoyer gives them praise for, however, it is impossible to not recognize that it is indeed the luxury of the amount of money the organization can afford to pay players that makes them the dominant juggernaut they are, not some great managerial prowess.