Dodgers hit with record $43.6 million luxury tax bill

(AP) The free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers will be picking up another expensive tab this winter.

According to the Associated Press, the Dodgers have been hit with a record luxury tax of nearly $43.6 million for a payroll that fell just shy of $300 million during the 2015 season.

Yes, that bill is even more expensive than the 34.5 million they owe Clayton Kersahw in 2016 or the $34.5 million Zack Greinke will earn on average during his new deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. And just think, had the Dodgers been able to re-sign Greinke, they’d be well on their way to a likely more expensive luxury tax bill next season.

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Not that the Dodgers seem to mind. According to calculations by MLB, Los Angeles had a record payroll of $297.6 million this year — benefts included — which far exceeds the $189 million threshold. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of money to have tied up in a baseball team, and a good chunk of that turned out to be dead money. As we noted after the Dodgers activity at the trade deadline, the team owed $87.5 million just to players who were no longer on the team. Another good chunk was tied up in players who were injured.

It’s not the most efficient way to run a business, but president Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi have spent the last 12 months working toward a roster that works best for them. Even if it meant spending some extra money to make a player or two go away, or to land an extra prospect, they were willing to do it. Most importantly, they had the approval of ownership as the payroll continued shooting upward.

It’s not a new thing though under Friedman and Zaidi. The Dodgers exceeded the luxury tax the previous two seasons under Ned Colletti, paying a total of $38 million in luxury taxes.

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Also worth noting, the Dodgers were far from alone this season. For the first time ever, four teams spent above the luxury tax threshold, bringing the overall total owed to $72.8 million. Of course, the New York Yankees are among them, paying $26.1 million this season. The Boston Red Sox owe $1.8 million and the San Francisco Giants will pay $1.3 million.

Those teams all figure to exceed the tax again in 2016, but it will be interesting to see if anyone else joins them. With MLB enjoying record revenue again this season, there’s definitely money to spend and still plenty of players available to spend it on.

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