The Los Angeles Dodgers had the biggest offseason in the association. They signed one of the most special talents baseball fans have ever seen in Shohei Ohtani. LA gave him a 10 year, $700 million dollar contract, with Ohtani deferring $680 million until after the deal expires in 2033. This move by him freed up enough space for the Dodgers to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a superstar pitcher from Japan. The Dodgers officially have a loaded roster, but will they actually win the World Series?
Since 2014, the Dodgers have lost six times in the divisional round of the postseason. Yes, in 2020, they won the World Series. Some people put an asterisk by it because of the season only being 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that a something major has to happen in order for LA to actually seal the deal. Since that World Series win, they have won over 100 regular season games three years in a row. That’s a total of 317 wins in that span of time. In all three seasons, they did not make one World Series appearance after being the favorites to make it.
The difference between those teams and this current Dodgers team is simple, Shohei Ohtani. The two time American League MVP is ready to wreak havoc in the National League. LA has a potential lineup of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Jason Heyward, Teoscar Hernandez, James Outman and Gavin Lux. This lineup along with Ohtani are automatically contenders. Their pitching rotation is certainly a question mark for their World Series chances though. Outside of Yamamoto, they recently signed Tyler Glasnow, a solid rotating pitcher. Walker Buehler missed the entire 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery, so who knows if he will be the same. Dustin May also is recovering from injury. The signing of James Paxton gives them depth at the pitcher position, even though he’s 35 years old. If the Dodgers want to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy in October, they have to have a solid pitching staff.
The Dodgers are contenders, there’s no questioning that statement. Pitching will be something they struggle with, but when it comes to hitting, they are elite. Their starting lineup is good enough to close games out consistently. The spooky part about LA is the postseason. Will their stars show up and show out? Or will they choke once again? These questions loom over the franchise, as they invested hundreds of millions of dollars in their future.
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