A nine-year MLB veteran and popular social media influencer believes it is a lock that the Los Angeles Dodgers overuse of deferral-filled contracts is going to lead to a work stoppage soon.
Over the last year, the Dodgers have turned themselves into the most hated team in baseball. However, it is not due to their excellence on the field from winning a third straight National League West title and second World Series title in four years. No, it is due to their unorthodox approach to roster building during that time.
When LA won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes a year ago, that wasn’t necessarily a surprise. They had the money to give him a top-shelf offer, a global brand, and the chance to remain in Los Angeles. However, after the news broke, the baseball world soon found out more than two-thirds of the historic $700 million deal would be paid in deferments in the next decade.
It allowed the team to then go sign top free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a huge deal. And slugger Teoscar Hernandez to a sizable one-year pact that also included deferrals. It was not the first time the team has used this type of arrangement for a major contract either. Fellow All-Star Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also have contracts filled with deferrals. Allowing the team to keep adding stars and build an elite club.
However, instead of appreciating their success after winning it all in October, the Dodgers continued the tactic this offseason. Giving two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell a deferral-filled deal. And then added stud reliever Tanner Scott with the money they are saving in the years ahead.
- How much money do the Los Angeles Dodgers have deferred? $1.039 billion
It has frustrated many in and around the league and is why nine-year MLB veteran Trevor May claims a work stoppage is coming.
Los Angeles Dodgers deferral overkill to cause work stoppage in 2026?
“I think there is a really good chance there is a work stoppage again,” May said in a video post. “If the players don’t just give [the owners] everything they want. Which I’m not confident they will do. I think [deferrals] are going to be addressed. That’s going to be a big thing. The league is going to go after deferred money. To get it penalized or added to the luxury tax in some shape or form.”
On the current Dodgers payroll, Blake Snell ($66 million), Mookie Betts ($120 million), Freddie Freeman ($55.9 million), and Shohei Ohtani ($680 million) will receive deferrals worth over a billion dollars.
However, many MLB fans wonder why other teams like the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees don’t copy the strategy. Bringing in more big stars to try and win a World Series and worry about the cost later. Well, May explained an interesting reason why clubs prefer not to use deferrals.
- Los Angeles Dodgers payroll (2025): $274.8 million (via Spotrac)
“You’ll notice one thing. The owners that are trying to pump their team and then dump it at some point don’t do deferments because they know if you put a bunch of deferments on the books that are going to go past the point at which you sell it, that burden is then going to go to the next owner,” said May.
“And nobody wants to buy that s***. So if you have a bunch of deferred money on the books you won’t be able to sell the team as easily. That’s why a lot of teams don’t like to do it.”