There’s a credo among baseball executives nowadays: Get younger.
Whereas putting together a World Series contender was once as simple as writing a check for some big-market teams—ahem, the Yankees—the emphasis for organizations has been on improving their minor league systems.
Free-agent spending still has its role—an important one—but building an organization is much like building a house. You’re not going to put mahogany on the walls (high-priced free agents) without building a foundation first (prospects).
It’s a combination that makes the Dodgers best set for the future. Other big-market teams, like the Cubs and Red Sox, deserve credit for similarly building upper-echelon minor league systems.