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The massive deferral lowers the team’s luxury tax commitment and penalties in addition to simply decreasing payroll.

Yates’ signing itself, after all, represented one of their most luxurious splurges — likely to effectively cost more than double its $13 million price tag when accounting for luxury tax penalties and the Dodgers’ need to cut former reliever Ryan Brasier and his $4-million salary in a corresponding move.

The Dodgers are trying not to squander a roster that boasts a nearly $400 million payroll, the highest in history for luxury tax purposes, and was bolstered by yet another big-money offseason from an Andrew Friedman-led front office and Guggenheim-funded ownership group.

Friedman’s hope is that it all serves as a motivator in the clubhouse, as the team tries to do something that hasn’t happened in baseball since the advent of the luxury tax almost a quarter-century ago.

The closest the league has come is its luxury tax structure, which taxes teams for surpassing certain payroll thresholds each season.