The Dodgers are indeed in a diferent class than the Cardinals financially. I have never disputed that. But they spend big when they WANT to, not when they HAVE to. The backbone of their sustained success is still their development system, just as Bill DeWitt wanted for the Cardinals when he jettisioned Walt Jocketty.
The difference is that when the Dodgers supplement their roster from the outside they do it in a much bigger way than the Cardinals do. Again, I have never disputed that.
I also suspect that other big market teams like the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox would love to have a farm system like the Dodgers but they don’t even though those teams have the same big budgets, just not the smarts.