NFL
By: George Lopez
The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the 2024 season looking to erase the bitterness of losing in the Divisional round of the MLB playoffs in 2022 and 2023. In the offseason, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman set out to improve the roster and was able to sign the biggest name in free agency, Shohei Ohtani. Friedman followed that up by signing Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to help bolster the starting rotation. The moves made by the Dodgers this offseason have fans excited as expectations of a World Series championship are at an all-time high among Dodger fans.
With the signing of Ohtani, Manager Dave Roberts will have the luxury of having 3 MVPs at the top of his lineup. The projected starting lineup for the Dodgers is as follows:
SS Mookie Betts
DH Shohei Ohtani
1B Freddie Freeman
C Will Smith
3B Max Muncy
LF Teoscar Hernandez
CF James Outman
RF Jason Heyward
2B Gavin Lux
When the Dodgers face a left-handed starter, Roberts will have the option of moving Betts to 2nd base and having Miguel Rojas at shortstop. Along with Rojas, the Dodgers’ key reserves Chris Taylor and Kiki Hernandez available off the bench. Taylor and Hernandez will be vital pieces to the Dodgers as they can play multiple positions that will allow starters to get some much-needed rests during the season. Roberts has also discussed the option of switching Ohtani and Freeman in the batting order as the season progresses, though it does appear Ohtani will remain in the #2 spot in the order.
Going into spring training, Gavin Lux was the presumed starting shortstop. However, Lux had issues this spring with making consistent throws. To address this, Roberts announced that Mookie Betts would be the everyday shortstop and Lux would move to 2nd base. If Betts snuggles at shortstop during the season, look for the Dodgers to make a move to bring in a shortstop and move Betts back to 2nd base. Max Muncy is a question mark at 3rd base. In 2023, Muncy had a fielding percentage of .944, one of the lowest in baseball. Muncy spent the majority of the offseason working on his fielding. At the plate, Muncy hit 36 home runs and drove in 105 RBIs, all while batting .212 for the season. Muncy does provide a power bat in the middle of the lineup but he will need to provide a consistent bat this season as he is expected to have multiple RBI opportunities.
Outfielder James Outman was not expected to make the opening day roster in 2023, but a tremendous spring training made it impossible not to have him on the roster. Outman went on to bat .248 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs while playing stellar defense in centerfield and finished 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Outman will look to avoid the sophomore slump and give the Dodgers a consistent bat at the bottom of the lineup while continuing to play solid defense as the captain of the outfield.
Pitching, always a rich tradition with the Dodgers, will once again be a key factor in the Dodgers’ success this season. In the opening 2 game series in South Korea, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were given the starts. As the Dodgers joins the rest of MLB in opening the season on March 28th, the starting rotation is as follows
Tyler Glasnow
Bobby Miller
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
James Paxton
Gavin Stone
In his first official start against the Padres, Yamamoto lasted only 1 inning as he allowed 5 runs on 43 pitches. His last 2 spring training starts to go along with his first start of the season were not what the Dodgers nor their fans expected. Yamamoto is throwing a different-sized baseball with a different feel on the seams as he did in Japan. He is also facing hitting who are accustomed to seeing 95-97 MPH fastballs. The success for Yamamoto this season will come from him being able to locate his pitches that will enable him to effectively use his split finger fastball. If he struggles with his location like he did in his first start against the Padres, it could be a long season for him.
Bobby Miller’s rookie season in 2023 was better than expected. Miller finished the season at 11-4 with a 3.77 E.R.A. in 22 games. Miller has the makings of a future #1 starter for the Dodgers and is expected to have an even stronger season this year. The battle for the last starting spot in the rotation was between Gavin Stone, Michael Grove and Ryan Yarbrough. Going into his last spring training start, Stone had posted a 3-0 record this spring with a 0.93 E.R.A to earn the 5th spot in the rotation. Walker Buehler, who is recovering from his 2nd Tommy John surgery is expected to rejoin the team sometime in May and join the rotation. Clayton Kershaw will rejoin the team sometime in August as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. With Buehler and Kershaw back in the mix during the season, the Dodgers starting rotation will be even stronger and will allow more length in the bullpen.
One of the key pieces in the Dodgers bullpen, Brusdar Graterol will not be available at the beginning of the season as he was placed on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation. Joe Kelly and Alex Vesia will look to hold down the fort as key set up men in the bullpen while Graterol is out. Michael Grove is expected to fill the role of long relief for the Dodgers. Ryan Brasier and Ryan Yarbrough are expected to be part of the middle relief group this season. The Dodgers do welcome back Blake Treinen as he missed all of 2023. Evan Phillips returns as the closer for the Dodgers though manager Dave Roberts has stated that he will use different pitchers in the closer’s role.
The Los Angeles Dodgers come into the 2024 season as one of the teams expected to compete for the World Series championship. Andrew Friedman and the organization made key pickups via free agency and trades to put together a roster they believe will get them to the World Series. As with all teams, health will a key factor in determining the success of the Dodgers this year. Will the recent story involving Ohtani and his former interpreter and transactions with an illegal bookmaker be a major distraction this season…only time will tell. The Dodgers will win the NL West once again, but that will not be good enough for the team and their fans. This season will be World Series or bust for the Dodgers.
Prediction
100-62
