The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t care how much money has to be spent. They will not be simply the best regular season team in baseball. It’s time to win, and aplenty.
It’s astounding how much the team has underachieved. LA has finished in first place in the NL West in 10 of the last 11 years. They’ve won 100 or more games five times in seven years during that stretch. And yet, the only World Series they have to show for it came during the shortened 2020 season.
At face value, it’s easy to understand why the Dodgers struggle in October. The NL West isn’t exactly a competitive division and the postseason favors the hottest team as opposed to the best ones on paper. Much like the Dodgers are going into the 2024 season.
There will be no unceremonious, Arizona-driven ALDS sweep this year. In 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t just World Series or bust.
They’re thinking full-blown dynasty.
Greatest Addition: Shohei Ohtani & Friends. Nobody was shocked when the two-time MVP and two-way star Ohtani inked a ten-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers. What did shock the baseball world was his deferring most of that salary so that his actual base salary is only $2 million a year. His luxury tax number is a shade over $46 million, but the Dodgers still had a sudden treasure trove of flexibility.
Cue Ohtani’s friend and international ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million deal. Then the powerful Teoscar Hernandez on a one-year contract. Now trade for Tyler Glasnow and give him a $136.5 million extension.
This team means business. Scarier yet, they have the money to add even more.
Greatest Loss: J.D. Martinez. Yes, Ohtani is better at DH than the aging Martinez. Even so, Martinez showed he still has some thunder in his bat and mashed 33 home runs with 103 RBI in just 113 games last year. As I write, he remains a free agent.
The man has done nothing but hit for his whole career and doesn’t seem to be slowing down as he approaches what could be his age-36 season. The Dodgers were right to move on from Martinez, but there’s no doubt his power will be missed.
Greatest Strength: The Dodger Machine. There’s something about the Dodgers that, regardless of their place in the standings, makes them the best-run organization in baseball, hands down. What other minor league system has churned out five consecutive NL Rookies of the Year? Los Angeles gave its loyal fans another example of their star farm system last year when James Outman hit 23 home runs in his first full season.
The 2024 campaign should feature more prospects making their Dodger Blue debut as well. Gavin Stone and Nick Frasso are two exciting pitchers who may be in the bullpen and/or make spot starts this year. LA truly is a baseball machine that just keeps humming along.
Greatest Weakness: Fragile rotation. Even with Ohtani and Yamamoto aboard, it’s hard to look at the Dodgers’ pitching rotation in 2024 and see anything but question marks. Ohtani is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and isn’t pitching this year, and coming back from a second operation tends to be harder. Similarly, though Yamamoto won’t be a bust, he won’t be putting up a regular sub-2 ERA like he was in Japan.
And it doesn’t stop there either. Walker Buehler is coming back from his second Tommy John as well. Tony Gonsolin just underwent the operation. Clayton Kershaw re-signed, but shoulder surgery has him out until August. Tyler Glasnow is 30 and pitching 120 innings in Tampa Bay last year marked a new career-high.
The Dodgers are lucky to have such a stacked lineup. This pitching staff will need the support quite a bit this year.
Are the Dodgers a lock to win the 2024 World Series? If we go purely by talent on paper, the World Series is absolutely the Dodgers’ to lose. The lineup is enough that the team can run away with the NL West quickly with a hot enough start. The pitching, for all the concerns, is still objectively very good. Plus, the Dodgers have the pieces to trade for an arm at the deadline as needed.
All signs point to the Los Angeles Dodgers running away with the NL Pennant. Let’s see them do it.
