The Los Angeles Dodgers have not stopped adding in free agency. One year after the additions of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ended in a World Series, they picked up Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers also rebuilt their outfield, keeping Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez and adding Michael Conforto. One rival executive believes that the group holds the biggest weakness of the World Champs.
“The executive, granted anonymity for his candor, sees it like this: Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto lack range in the outfield corners. Center fielder Tommy Edman is a better infielder than outfielder,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported.
The anonymous rival continued by questioning the Dodgers’ infield defense. “Freddie Freeman remains solid at first. Hyeseong Kim figures to be at least as good as Gavin Lux was at second. Max Muncy, when healthy, is fine at third. But shortstop hinges on how much Mookie Betts improves after a full offseason and spring training trying to master the position. Freeman is 35, Muncy 34, Betts 32.”
The Dodgers saw first-hand how defense and players playing out of position can tank a World Series-caliber team. The Yankees were playing multiple players out of position in the Fall Classic and it cost them Game 5.
The Dodgers can still improve their defense
Free agency is not over, even for a team like the Dodgers who have made big moves. Utility man Kike Hernandez was key to their World Series run and is still available. But the Dodgers do not have much room on their roster for a guy like Hernandez, who has earned playing time throughout his career.
The Dodgers must rely on their coaching to get the best out of their defense for the entire season. While defense is important, they do have a historic rotation that can rely on strikeouts. With Snell and Sasaki, Los Angeles has four ace-level pitchers in their rotation, with Tyler Glasnow and Yamamoto. And Shohei Ohtani will be pitching this season.
Whether the Dodgers add another player or not, they will be favorites to win the World Series. Their historic additions have cost them a ton of money, with the luxury tax forcing them to pay 110% on every dollar. But that did not stop them from adding Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to their bullpen. Nothing is going to stop the Dodgers from adding more and more so no one should be surprised if they keep going.
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