The Dreams of the Deadline: Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball Prospectus

Translated by José M. Hernández Lagunes

I could say that Dodgers have a problem. But they don’t really have it. They have lost 13 of their last 18 games, it is true, and after having achieved a few victories to leave a series of seven losses in the first half, the Angels came out strong after the star game, swept by Milwaukee. They expanded their division advantage to nine games at the start of the month, only a few weeks after they had San Francisco reached in June, and despite some ups and downs, that benefit returned to respectable five games. The Pecota classification currently has Los Angeles with 96.1 victories, 10 more than that assigned to second place (San Diego), and if that is still a bit below the usual standard of the team, it is not as if they had extra rest rounds for an even better record than the rest of the competition.

Dodgers are of course fine. It is almost certain that they do not need victories to reach the division, with 96.5% probably conquer the West, but in any case they have not prepared for the regular season. However, that does not mean that the team is exempt from problems, and if there is something that they can do to consolidate their ambition to the dynasty for anyone who can still compete, it is a different championship. It is clear that this team is not so well equipped to destroy in October as the recent editions of the Dodgers. But we can solve it.

Dodgers have a 114 DRC+together. That figure is, as expected, the best of the National League. However, we will start with ideas to improve the offensive, because, well, Five Swords And all that. A total of 19 players completed an appearance on the plate with the Dodgers uniform; Nine of these batters have built at least 300 performances on the dish, which corresponds to around 80 work games. The other 10 batters have only combined 721 performances for the court, less than 18% of the total team during the season. The current injuries of Enrique Hernández and Max Muncy They have changed the composition of the alignment somewhat in recent days, but nine Dodgers have reached at least 81 of the first 106 Dodgers games; There is just a lot of room for other players in the receptor positions, designated batter, the first base, the central garden and the right garden. The rest of the painting is not so well defined, but Mookie BettsMuncy (if he is healthy) and Edman must enter the coordination.

Nevertheless, apart from the disappearance of Betts’ bat, there is not much to criticize this group of batters. DRC+ does not believe in the performance of teoscar hernández, certainly because of the ball percentage of 5.0%, but the average of 0.211 contributes a lot; on the other, Michael Comfort It has clearly been the weak point in terms of production, given the battle line lower than the Mendoza and the total quadrush of a single number, but DRC+ hardly considers it below the average with the bat. Especially considering that James Outman He has had major problems since his return to the major competitions and does not seem like a feasible reserve option, a gardener with strength would be a great addition. Unfortunately, this type of player is hardly available in this market and it is certainly not the type that makes the difference and the Dodgers floats. It is almost certain that Ramón Laureano can be reached, such as Luis Robert, but only one of those players really meets what is being asked – it is not something that Dodgers should necessarily resist, but it is less a fantasy about the deadline than a simple wandering at the Deadline of the Deadline of the Deadline of the Deadline.

Actually, if Dodgers are only looking for a batter, they probably can’t afford to be so selective with the position on this specific deadline. It is not ideal for a team that already has many mobile defensive pieces and without a maneuver margin with the permanently occupied Slagman -post, but Dodgers let many things work, and it is not that the adjustments they have to make are more important than other defensive changes that have recently started. Eugenio Suárez is an obvious suggestion for almost every team in this series as the best batter that is available, although he cannot play anywhere when Muncy returns. Ryan O’Hearn probably has unreal defense restrictions, even for the scope of this exercise, and Ke’bryan Hayes is a more feasible recording such as Muncy for a longer period is absent than likely. Steven Kwan It is probably the most obvious option if the intention is to get rid of comfort (it is not realistic in the short period for the deadline, but Dodgers fans would like to replace and exchange for another team). Options such as Lars Nootable y Brendan Donovan They can have more natural spaces to fit, but none of them is perfect. Fortunately they don’t have to be: there are no pieces that really fit in the puzzle, but the Dodgers do not hesitate to use the sandpaper.

Well, the body of pitchers … Los Angeles launches, eleventh in the DRA ranking, is not a shame, but they are not what the management was looking for after another winter season of meticulous reconstruction of a collective destroyed by the lesions. The injuries came clear to stay, and the only real option for Dodgers is to continue to employ new talents while the old women wilt. The good news is that both rotation and bullpen may need reinforcements. Although the first is so far from exhausted by injuries as it has been (for the time being), the Dodgers probably learned not to rely on such hope. Open pitcher options are plentiful, or people are leaning more about it Mackenzie Gore” Joe Ryan” Mitch Keller Or … well, this deadline is really surprisingly short. Yet 16 different launchers of the Dodgers have risen to the hill at least one game, and nine of them have had at least five openings. Part of this is due to the return of the pitchers after injuries, but it would be useful for the angels to be prepared for the next session with only openings.

Talking about improvements in the bullpen is usually reduced to a simple list of names, an impulse that we will deviate here to remind readers that the closure of the Dodgers is Tanner ScottIf he is healthy. He has a tricum of 74, in disagreement with his era of 4.14 thanks to breakdown with the home runs, and 21.8% of strikeouts fewer bases per ball indicates that the earned metric is probably won instead of the real brand of racing feature … but the Dodgers closing is still Tanner Scott. Well, now the list of names: Emmanuel Classé. He is the indicated. Dodgers need it because it is the best available reliever and they are the best available team. If he’s not, then Ryan Helsley… or both, because it is the Dodgers. Not everything needs to be complicated.

Nothing is important for the Dodgers truth. They are the most important threat of the competition for the late season, with 18% chances to win the World Series, almost 50% more than any other team. They have more internal options than almost any other set, and they will probably continue to have that benefit in the future thanks to their deep system of small competitions and the solid development of players. They can one Mookie Betts For reasons that nobody can explain with certainty, and that doesn’t even matter. Are great players on the deadline for a few years ago, Trea Turner y Max ScherzerThey left the organization before the World Series trophy was won and the two recent titles arrived after the limit data of relatively quiet fairs. In fact, practically all mentioned here are players as candidates for exchange, and many others are also players who need other teams more than Dodgers. But what better reason is there for Dodgers to choose them?