Following an early exit in the 2019 playoffs, the Dodgers have done little to improve their team
The 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers dominated in the regular season with 106 wins. They found their way to the National League Division Series, where they lost to the eventual World Series champion Washington Nationals in seven games. Once again, they weren’t far from their first World Series title since 1988. Sound familiar?
The Dodgers were arguably the National League’s best all-around team throughout the 2010s. Granted, the San Francisco Giants won three titles and the St. Louis Cardinals tallied a title of their own in a consistently competitive decade, but no other NL team boasted the kind of dominance that has sprung from Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers have won the NL West division for seven consecutive seasons, and the gap between them and the next closest team averaged nine games in that span. Moreover, the Dodgers young stars and deep farm system mean their dominance may not end anytime soon.
Unfortunately, while competitiveness is honorable and “NLDS Champs” makes for a nice ballpark pennant year after year, the question for the Dodgers is clear: When will they finally get over the hump and give their city the title they deserve?
Since taking the helm in Los Angeles in 2014, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has consistently refused to mortgage future potential for present gain. We shouldn’t be surprised by his approach. Friedman previously served as general manager for the Tampa Bay Rays, one of baseball’s small-market franchises.
The problem is that Friedman’s approach fails to use the full breadth of his resources in Los Angeles. A report from Forbes pegged the Dodgers’ franchise value at $3.3 billion, second in baseball behind only the New York Yankees.
Once again, we are now about a month away from when pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training, but Friedman’s roster looks very similar to the one that fell in the playoffs last fall. That could certainly change in the coming weeks, but no further additions seem close or likely as of now.
The Dodgers have made just three notable roster additions this winter, all of which are bounceback hopefuls coming off bad and/or injury-riddled seasons.
The Dodgers first acquisition of the offseason was reliever Blake Treinen, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract. Treinen is coming off the worst season of his career, when he posted a 4.91 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and .778 opponent OPS over 57 appearances out of the Oakland Athletics bullpen. Treinen was elite the year prior with a 0.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and .417 opponent OPS, but $10 million is a hefty price to pay for a recently below-average pitcher.
For their second significant move of the offseason, the Dodgers brought right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson to town on a one-year, $1.25 million contract with incentives and a mutual option for 2021. Nelson broke out in 2017 with a 3.49 ERA over 29 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers, but he has suffered from serious shoulder problems that sidelined him for well over a year.
Nelson managed just 22 total innings of MLB work last year, posting an unsightly 6.95 ERA, 1.91 WHIP and 17 walks in two stints with Milwaukee, the latter of which came out of the bullpen. Nelson might have some life left in his arm at 30 years old, but he probably shouldn’t be counted on as a reliable starter in 2020.
Lastly, the Dodgers most recently brought back their former left-handed starting pitcher Alex Wood on a one-year, $4 million contract packed with incentives. Wood suffered from back issues last year that pushed his first start in a Cincinnati Reds uniform all the way back to July 28. He lasted only seven starts before getting hurt again, posting a 5.80 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 35.2 innings.
In summary, the Dodgers have spent $15.25 million (plus potential incentives) this offseason to three free agents who combined to throw 116.1 innings last year with a 4.80 ERA.
Of course, a comeback for any or all of these three players is not out of the question, but it is also difficult to argue that adding Wood, Treinen and Nelson makes the Dodgers favorites to win the World Series this season. That honor would belong to the similarly rich Yankees, who spent a fortune this winter on one of the best free agents to ever hit the market in pitcher Gerrit Cole.
Some fans would argue that the Dodgers were the rightful winners of the 2017 World Series after recent findings that the Houston Astros have been stealing signs illegally. They might be right.
Nothing’s changing in the record books, though, and the Dodgers may stay out of those record books even longer if they continue to act passively.