Braves Reliever Takes Shot at Dodgers' Spending This Offseason

The Atlanta-Los Angeles baseball rivalry continues off the field.

The Dodgers have made headlines around baseball this offseason with their record spending. The team has committed $1.2 billion to free agents this winter, and they have built one of the best rosters in recent memory. 

The additions of Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez and others give Los Angeles a great shot to win the World Series. Of course, the Dodgers will have to go win the title on the field. 

Games aren't won on paper. Los Angeles knows this well. The Dodgers have underwhelmed the last three Octobers, but are determined to change the narrative starting this season.

The Dodgers' spending spree cast them in somewhat of a villain role around the league. People aren't happy that Guggenheim Baseball Management decided to finally flex its financial muscle. That includes Atlanta Braves reliever A.J. Minter.

“We can be better than we were last year. That's saying a lot, because we did set a lot of records last year especially on the offensive side. Money doesn't buy wins. Obviously the Dodgers are a great team, they expect to be right there in the postseason this year. They went out and got some really good players. But we've seen it before. I mean, not to pick on the Mets, money is not gonna buy you a World Series, not gonna buy you a division champ. It takes a lot more. It takes guys all pulling together in the clubhouse… I think that's what separates us from other teams. We treat each other like family… We're the pedestal of organizations.”

— A.J. Minter via

Foul Territory

The Braves and Dodgers have been two of the best teams across the league in recent seasons. Each has won a World Series in the last five years. They have played each other in the postseason multiple times, and the rivalry between the two organizations has only grown.

Just this week, the Dodgers and Braves were projected to win 102 and 100 games, respectively, by Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA system.

These comments by Minter only add to the rivalry, and both teams should be amped up to face each other this season. If anything, it makes for great drama when they finally play each other. The rivalry is alive and well.