Breaking: Passan’s Dodgers Comments Sparks Ongoing Controversy, Exposes Deeper Issue

ESPN’s Jeff Passan is highly regarded as the best insider in the business. That being said, he’s not a fan favorite in the MLB community.

Over the years, Passan has praised the Los Angeles Dodgers for spending more than any other team in the league. On Friday night, he applauded the defending champions for signing Teoscar Hernandez to a three-year, $66 million. Not only did he rave about the Dodgers, he dissed any team not copying their business model.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers are a machine. Not only do they print cash, their willingness to spend it in pursuit of winning is unmatched. They put their money where their mouth is,” Passan wrote on X. “Others could benefit greatly from the same approach. They choose not to.”

Passan received pushback from fans who believe the Dodgers are deferring way too much money. The longtime MLB insider doesn’t see it as an issue though, pointing out that multiple teams have deferred millions of dollars in the past.

“Bobby Bonilla, Ken Griffey Jr, Francisco Lindor, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Christian Yelich and plenty of others deferred money. Arizona’s ownership needed to sell in 2004 because it deferred too much,” Passan replied. “Before you complain, understand history a little. It’s not hard.”

While Passan is right about teams deferring money, what the Dodgers did with Shohei Ohtani’s contract was something we may never see again. His deal included $680 million in deferred salary.

After seeing these two posts from Passan, MLB fans ripped him to shreds for being disingenuous with his comments

“I like Passan, but it’s clear he’s either financially illiterate or operating in bad faith here,” one fan said. “The Dodgers’ TV deal provides them with a $280mm advantage every year, before a single ticket or concession is sold. Maybe the Yankees could spend like this, but nobody else.”

Another person wrote, “That’s why no one likes you Jeff. Buying teams are horrible for the game. All the TV money they get gives them an advantage. Not good for the league.”

“Do rich owners need to spend more? Absolutely. There needs to be a rule where owners have to spend a certain amount. But also not every team has a TV deal valued at $8.35 Billion like the Dodgers do,” a social media user replied.

The Dodgers have TV deal with Time Warner Cable that is valued at $8.35 billion. There’s no question that’s an advantage for them when it comes to spending money.

Los Angeles has been quite busy this offseason, signing left-hander Blake Snell and slugger Michael Conforto.

Unless something changes in a hurry, the Dodgers will be the favorites to win the World Series in 2025.