MLB

How the 2026 Dodgers compare to baseball’s other ‘superteams’

ballervisions 2026年1月16日

The Los Angeles Dodgers were already a “premier team” before they agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract with Kyle Tucker. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Freddie Freeman are among the major signings that led to back-to-back World Series titles for LA.

Dodgers ownership is willing and able to spend, with a payroll more than double that of more than half of MLB’s teams. That has led to LA becoming a prime destination for free agents looking to contend for the World Series while also reinvesting money.

How does this current program compare to past Dodgers teams and the “superteams” of baseball’s past?

1927 New York Yankees (110-44-1, World Series Champions)

This is the legendary Yankees team that used “Murderers’ Row,” a lineup that included Earle Combs, Lou Gehrig, Mark Koenig, Tony Lazzeri, Bob Meusel and Babe Ruth.

In 1927, Ruth broke his MLB home run record set in 1921 by hitting 60. Gehrig struck out 47 and recorded 173 RBI while hitting .373 en route to the first of two MVP awards. Four Yankees finished with at least 100 RBI, and Ruth and Gehrig combined for 107 of the team’s 158 home runs that season. New York had a differential of plus-376 and was out of first place.

A total of eight Hall of Famers were on this Yankees team: Combs, Gehrig, Hoyt, Lazzeri, Pennock, Ruth, and manager Miller Huggins and Ed Barrow, the team’s business manager, who helped bring in most of the “Assassins Row.”

The Yankees’ 110 wins broke the previous AL record of 105 and stood until 1954. In the World Series, the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games in their second contest.

Reggie Jackson during the Oakland Athletics’ 1972 World Series winning team celebration in June 2022. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)

(Michael Zagaris via Getty Images)

1972-74 Oakland A’s (277-202, three World Series titles)

The 1972 A’s were meticulously built over time by owner Charlie Finley, from when the franchise was still in Kansas City. Baseball’s first draft pick, Rick Monday, was selected in 1965 and later traded for pitcher Ken Holtzman, who won 19 games in 1972. Drawing 118 picks after Monday was third baseman Sal Bando, who tied for the team lead in hitting last season.

The MVP of the 1972 World Series was Gene Tenace, who was drafted 400th by the A’s in 1965. Dave Duncan’s backup behind the plate, Tenace received more playing time later in the season and became the starting pitcher during the postseason. He led Oakland with four home runs and 10 RBI in 12 games in their ALCS victory over the Detroit Tigers and their seven-game World Series victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

As noted, A’s heroism is built piecemeal. In 1966, Reggie Jackson was drafted second overall, and future Cy Young Award winner Vida Blue went 27th overall in 1967. A year before that fruitful 1965 draft, the A’s signed Joe Rudi, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers.

Four seasons after moving to Oakland, the A’s won the first of three consecutive World Series. Fingers, Hunter, Jackson and manager Dick Williams eventually received plaques in Cooperstown.

2009 New York Yankees (103-59, World Series Champions)

Entering 2009, the Yankees had won four titles since 1996 and reached six World Series under Derek Jeter. “Evil Empire” was not shy about spending money to secure top talent. That’s how George Steinbrenner worked.

But with Steinbrenner out of the picture one year before his death, the franchise didn’t change its course. CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira signed free agent contracts worth a combined $423.5 million — a sign of intent as the team opens the new Yankee Stadium. A list of players who have been re-signed in recent years, including Alex Rodriguez and his $275 million contract, as well as Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. Andy Pettitte signed an extension one month before spring training.

After winning the AL East, the Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. They also earned another World Series title by knocking off the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALCS and the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Both series lasted six games.

Rivera, Sabathia and Jeter are all Hall of Famers on this list, while Rodriguez and Pettitte may find their way onto the roster.

2024-25 Los Angeles Dodgers (191-133, two World Series titles)

The signing of Ohtani changed everything for the Dodgers. Free workers were lured in with huge contracts, and pieces kept being added.

LA’s salary was $353 million in 2024 and $417 million in 2025. According to Spotrac, it’s actually down about $4 million going into the 2026 season, following Tucker’s signing.

Between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Dodgers signed contracts with a total value of more than $1 billion. The deferred fee is another expensive matter, but in the end, the goal was achieved – two more tournaments.

These LA rosters included many potential future Hall of Famers, including Betts, Freeman, Ohtani, manager Dave Roberts and Clayton Kershaw, and a few others depending on how their careers play out.

2026 Los Angeles Dodgers

Many of the same stars are back in 2026, minus the retired Kershaw, but this offseason hasn’t been a typical spending spree for the Dodgers. Some salary was spent by letting players go, and only four major league contracts were signed in free agency: Tucker, closer Edwin Díaz (three years, $69 million) and infielders Miguel Rojas (one year, $5.5 million) and Andy Ibañez (one year, $1.2 million).

Still, the program boasts the likes of Ohtani, Freeman, Blake Snell, Betts, Yamamoto, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow to go with the newly signed Tucker. That means more pressure to achieve a three-peat to make the money spent worth it.

The biggest teams in all sports

The sports world has seen plenty of other great teams over the decades. Here are a few from this century, for honorable mention:

2007 New England Patriots: Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss joined the Pats and caught a record 23 TDs, fueling New England’s offense. Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season – the only team to ever do that – only to lose to Eli Manning and the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

2012-13 Miami Heat: LeBron James’ “decision” rocked the sports world in the summer of 2010, when he chose to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami to form their formidable “Big Three”. Those three earned back-to-back NBA championships while James collected two MVP awards, two NBA Finals MVPs and four All-Star appearances in his four seasons in Miami.

2015-16 Golden State Warriors: Led by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Golden State went 73-9, breaking the NBA’s all-time wins record set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who went 72-10. The Warriors broke more than 25 NBA records that season but ended up losing 3-1 in the NBA Finals against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.