The rich got richer in the MLB when the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a five-year $182 million deal with two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on Tuesday.
While some see this move as a negative for baseball, ESPN radio host Evan Cohen views things differently.
The Dodgers may not be done with the signing of Snell. Reports since the end of the season suggest they’re also part of the sweepstakes to sign star outfielder Juan Soto, who they played against in the 2024 World Series.
Soto signing with the Dodgers would tilt the balance of power in the Dodgers’ direction to an absurd degree. But this is exactly what Evan Cohen wants to happen. In doing so, Los Angeles would create a storyline where they are the “villains” of Major League Baseball.
“How could this not be good for baseball when every single sport non-NFL is trying to race for number two,” said Cohen of the Snell signing to his co-hosts Chris Canty and Michelle Smallmon on Wednesday morning’s edition of Unsportsmanlike. “That is the goal. How can we solidify ourselves as number two? It has felt like college football has been that for a long period of time. In many ways, it has been that because of the coaches. Because we have coaches that are characters. That are heroes or villains that we root for or against.
“The point is, in the race for number two, having heroes and villains is vital in that race for number two. The Warriors in the NBA when Kevin Durant was there were front and center, everybody had an opinion on them. I am not only hoping the Dodgers sign Snell, which they did. I am hoping, even as a Mets fan, for the sake of the sport, they sign Soto so they are clearly the villain. Because guess what CC, you’re Yankee team… they’re not the villains anymore. If they were the villains, Soto would have already been signed.
“This is great for baseball to have a villain like this with the Dodgers.”
.@EvCoRadio is hoping for the sake of the sport, the Dodgers sign Soto so they’re the clear villain in baseball. https://t.co/48WCFH9gOn pic.twitter.com/Bk5I1pKxQ7
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) November 27, 2024
Having a villain that fans can root against can be an overwhelmingly positive thing for any sport. The Golden State Warriors from 2016 and 2019 were a great example. This concept isn’t foreign to the MLB as the New York Yankees were the villains of baseball for the better part of the 20th century, winning 25 of their 27 World Series championships before 2000.
The 2024 World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers saw viewership and fan engagement on social media at its highest points in a long time.
So maybe Cohen is right that a dominant Dodgers dynasty is exactly what is needed for the sport to be revitalized and for everyone else to have a villain to root against.
