Jeff Passan suggests Kyle Tucker’s Dodgers contract was the straw that broke camel’s back

The Los Angeles Dodgers' history-making contract with Kyle Tucker may have increased their team's chances at a three-peat, but it also appears to have guaranteed the chances of a MLB lockout in 2027.

That sentiment — which was already widely understood by the Dodgers-are-ruining-baseball crowd — was shared by ESPN's chief baseball scribe Jeff Passan in an article that focused squarely on L.A.'s budding dynasty. In that piece, Passan reflected one high-ranking team official as saying that the owners are willing to "burn the [expletive] house down" in order to implement a salary cap and stop the Dodgers' rampage.

However, it's also worth sharing that, while the subjective analysis from other fanbases doesn't paint a healthy baseball landscape, the Dodgers' recent success has had an objectively positive impact on MLB.

"Los Angeles bred an empire because in MLB's current system, money and hypercompetence are a potent combination. And in spite of the Dodgers taking over the sport as they have -- and, in lesser ways, because of what they've done -- there has been a renaissance in recent years, a renewed interest in the game nationally to correspond with tremendous growth internationally, particularly in Japan," Passan wrote.

In other words: Baseball is going to change, but perhaps the Dodgers shouldn't.

Dodgers aren't only team responsible for impending MLB lockout

There's no point in denying that the Dodgers have completely taken over the sport. Their payroll has reached stratospheric levels that almost no other team can match. In fact, you'd need to multiply the Miami Marlins' total AAV commitments by seven just to approximate where the Dodgers are at in 2026.

Obviously, that's not sustainable. Teams like the Marlins, Rays, and Athletics should absolutely be spending more money to build competitive rosters year in and year out, but there's also a big difference between asking those teams to increase their payroll by 20% and 700%.

The Dodgers aren't the only ones responsible for this newfound level of fiscal disparity, either. As Passan notes, the New York Mets have actually spent more (roughly $70 million) than Los Angeles has over the past five seasons. The only reason one gets more flack is that their spending has led to multiple World Series titles.

It's nearly impossible to imagine the MLBPA willingly succumbing to any salary cap demands — they didn't do so during the 1994 lockout that deprived the sport of a World Series that year, and odds are both sides are willing to sacrifice some portion of the 2027 season to get what they want.

So, yeah, this fight is going to get ugly. The Dodgers have had a part in sowing these seeds of discontent, but no team or owner is totally innocent. The economics of the sport will more than likely irrevocably change following the 2026 season, which may or may not alter the way teams can be built and sustained.

Before that happens, maybe it'd be best to complete the three-peat. You know, just to rub a little salt in the wound.