Closer look at Dodgers' latest signing reveals ridiculous payroll disparity with Brewers

For most of last season, it was easy to draw the conclusion that the Milwaukee Brewers were at least the second-best team in the National League, and perhaps the best, pending the outcome of the playoffs.

Then, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Crew in the Championship Series, won their second straight World Series, and have followed that up by signing Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker in free agency. Meanwhile, the Brewers have responded to their loss with a relatively quiet offseason, though bringing back Brandon Woodruff on the qualifying offer should not be overlooked.

Though it's fair to be frustrated with Milwaukee's lack of activity this offseason, it's downright encouraged to be furious at the way the Dodgers are carrying themselves. Yes, they should be commended for actually spending money on good players, but it gets to a point where the disparity between them and other teams is so laughable that you can't help but just feel defeated.

And if you dare look further into their finances after signing Tucker, "defeated" might be the glass-half-full viewpoint.

Dodgers' payroll dwarfs Brewers so much that baseball might actually need a lockout

The basics of Tucker's contract are that he signed for four years and $240 million, with $30 million in deferrals. That brings his AAV (for luxury tax purposes) down to $57.1 million per year — for reference, that's more than double Christian Yelich's AAV (the largest in Brewers history).

But the gobsmacking numbers don't stop there. The Dodgers, who long ago exceeded the $304 million final Competitive Balance Tax threshold, must pay a 110% tax on every dollar they spend over that amount. Tucker's entire deal falls under that categorization, which means they'll pay the league an additional $62 million for his services in 2026.

Do a little quick math, and you'll come away with a total of $120 million dollars that the Dodgers will be spending to have Kyle Tucker on their roster this year. Bolding, italicizing, and underlining that number hardly does it justice. For further reference, the Brewers' end-of-year payroll in 2025 came in around $123 million. The Dodgers are allocating nearly that entire amount to just one player!

This whole conversation feels like it's been leading to a lockout for several years, but this offseason has put the cherry on top. Yes, Mark Attanasio should spend more than $130 million on one of the best teams in baseball. In the same breath, he absolutely should not spend double that just to add Kyle Tucker to his team.

There's no telling where this will all lead in a year's time — the 2026 Dodgers haven't won anything on the field yet — but it's getting harder to imagine how the Brewers, or any team for that matter, can compete with what's going on out in Los Angeles. It's an unenviable position to be in, but the Crew may be baseball's best chance to dethrone the juggernaut being built out west.