MLB All-Stars react to Dodgers' massive $400 million payroll for 2026 season: 'I f---ing love it'
The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the 2026 season looking to win their third straight World Series, and once again, they added All-Star players to an already stacked 40-man roster.
As a result, many in the baseball world have grumbled and groaned about the massive spending Los Angeles is doing on the open market. But there is the other side of the argument: How do players on other teams feel about the super squad the Dodgers and GM Brandon Gomes have been able to put together?
"I f---ing love it," San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado told reporters at spring training when asked about the Dodgers heading into the new year. "I love it. I mean, honestly, I think every team should be doing it. They’ve figured out a way to do it, and it’s f---ing great for the game."
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Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Bryce Harper shares Machado’s sentiment.
"I love what the Dodgers do, honestly," he said at his team’s Clearwater facility this week. "They pay the money. They spend the money. They’re a great team. They run their team like a business. And they run it the right way."
The Dodgers head into the 2026 season with a massive $400 million payroll, though there are teams close behind. The New York Mets are second with a projected $368.3 million, followed by the New York Yankees at $333.25 million.
But the Phillies are fourth on the list ($311.18 million), and the Padres are sixth ($257.84 million), and Machado and Harper have both cashed in on massive contracts over their careers. Of course, those contracts were rightfully earned for both players.
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Los Angeles has taken the spending to a different level, though, which has led a group of baseball fans to say the Dodgers are ruining baseball. The fact the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026 makes things even more interesting, as an MLB lockout could be in the works with a salary cap debate almost certainly at the center of future negotiations.
However, the words of Machado and Harper show how much the players enjoy the Dodgers spending money. As they both said, the Dodgers’ spending is what they want to see because, ultimately, that means their peers are being paid the money they feel they’re worth.
At the same time, smaller market teams are unable to spend the way the Dodgers and large market teams do. That argument, however, isn’t one Machado finds reasonable.
"I think every team has the ability to do it," he said. "So, I hope all 30 teams can learn from that."
Harper added: "Each team in baseball has an opportunity to do the same thing. Maybe not at the upper echelon of money. But they can draft, they can develop, they can trade. I don’t know, I think a lot of teams can do that in baseball. And they should."
Gomes was asked about his opinion of those who say the Dodgers are ruining baseball, and as expected, he isn’t worried about the outside noise.
"I don’t really pay any attention to that at all," he said, per the California Post. "We’re not looking externally. The validation is winning championships and putting out as good a team as you can each and every year."
The Dodgers’ latest big-name acquisitions were outfielder Kyle Tucker, who signed a whopping four-year, $240 million deal, and closer Edwin Diaz, who came aboard on a three-year, $69 million contract.
Los Angeles defended their title in a thrilling seven-game World Series bout with the Toronto Blue Jays this past season.
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