Two-third of fans want an MLB salary cap, poll says, but would it stop the Dodgers?

It's been a blistering 72 hours for the Los Angeles Dodgers — and one that's invited a lot of backlash.

To recap: on Friday, Japanese star Roki Sasaki announced on Instagram he was signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers, giving them one of the world's elite pitchers at a bargain basement salary. Sunday, they signed pitcher Tanner Scott to a four-year contract, giving them arguably the best reliever on the free agent market.

Immediately, fans revolted against the Dodgers' apparent construction of a baseball "Death Star." Although Los Angeles might have the deepest roster ever constructed in the lives of most fans, it's nothing new in the context of MLB history.

Let's say the Dodgers go to the World Series every year between now and 2038, when their monster RSN deal expires. That's two more World Series than the Yankees made in a 14-season stretch from 1949-62 — a period that saw widespread racial integration, broader media exposure, and the first round of expansion in Major League Baseball.

Objectively, I tend to push back against the belief that this was a "Golden Era" for the sport, but it's remarkable how many folks who lived through it hold that notion. Regardless, the Yankees' dominance was the antithesis of a death knell for baseball.

Whatever you hold responsible for "what the Dodgers are doing," one logical counterargument is to pose the question: "what's the worst that could happen?" If it's what happened with the Yankees from 1949-62, we ought to interrogate whether the sport came out on the other side better or worse.

Instead, the discourse online has shifted to "how can MLB change its rules to stop the Dodgers?"

One popular answer involves imposing a salary cap.

A poll on MLBtraderumors.com Sunday asked fans if they want the next Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the players' union to include a salary cap. More than two-thirds (67.1 percent) of the 27,000-plus respondents as of this writing said yes.

Free agent pitcher Joe Kelly, who won World Series with the Dodgers in 2020 and 2024, believes a salary cap wouldn't change a thing.

Emergency podcast: Joe Kelly has a message to all those whining about the Dodgers.
Listen: https://t.co/MjpVlOBYQe pic.twitter.com/3JQzkAhOG1
— Baseball Isn’t Boring (@BBisntBoring) January 19, 2025

"Even if every team could pay (Shohei Ohtani) $10, he's going to go to the team, number 1, which is a great destination to be at. Number 2, you have to show him what separates (your team) at that point," Kelly told the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast.

It's remarkable — if only a little reactionary — to see how many fans are convinced Kelly is wrong.

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