Rob Manfred: Dodgers 'Doing What the System Allows,' Spending Is 'Great for the Game'

The Los Angeles Dodgers have continued to amass absurd amounts of talent, utilizing deferred money to attract superstars while keeping their payroll from getting too unruly in the short term.

And MLB commissioner Rob Manfred seems to be fine with the practice, telling reporters Tuesday that the Dodgers have "gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field, and I think that's great for the game."

"Disparity should be, it certainly is, at the top of my list of concerns about what's occurring in the sport," he added. "When I say I can't be critical of the Dodgers—they're doing what the system allows. If I'm going to be critical of somebody, it's not going to be the Dodgers. It's going to be the system."

That is essentially business-executive speak for "don't hate the player, hate the game."

And most teams wouldn't be able to match what the Dodgers were doing even if they wanted. Los Angeles is a huge media market, with the franchise pulling in $334 million per season alone from its regional cable deal. Add in Shohei Ohtani's willingness to defer $680 million and the profitability of having Japan's biggest sports star on your roster, and the Dodgers are in a position to spend big to maximize their window during the Ohtani years.

It threatens to leave the smaller-market teams around the sport in the dust. But with a salary cap unlikely, Manfred, MLB owners and the MLB Players Association may have to get a bit creative when it comes to establishing more spending balance in the sport.