How do you improve a team that has won six straight NL West titles?

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 29, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

but can’t perform well enough to win even one World Championship during this six-year run?

I don’t have any answers, I’m just posing the question because this team seems pretty set heading into 2019 except how to replace Grandal and Ryu and Ryu’s replacement would seem to be Julio Urias.

Yazmani Grandal has been one of the top five offensive catchers during his Dodger run, but also is the worst performing Dodger postseason hitter of all time. I have no proof of this but a .462 career postseason OPS in 92 plate appearances is what I’d be heading into the trial with.

Kiké ended the 2018 season looking like a Star was Born only to see his stock fall back with his grisly October performance.

Maddening Manny Machado………..just say I won’t miss him

The Dodgers found their Andrew Miller in Caleb Ferguson and then left him off the World Series roster. Don’t tell me that didn’t bite them in the ass.

Ryan Madson found his way onto the postseason roster while Ross Stripling sat. Ryan was effective in Sept but horrible in October. Ross was ineffective in Sept but……….

I don’t know. The team seems set. More than set. Almost too many pieces.

1st – Muncy / Freese (they best pick up his option)

2nd – Hernandez / Taylor / Muncy

SS – Seager

3rd – Turner

Catcher – yup, that be a hole. Grandal is a free agent, and Barnes did little to inspire confidence he’d be a functional full-time catcher.  I mean I have faith that Barnes could do it for 100 games but I’m not sure anyone else does. Keibert Ruiz couldn’t possibly be ready by 2019, could he? Muncy looks like a catcher maybe they can make him one:)

LF – Taylor/Joc//Verdugo/Toles

CF – Bellinger/Taylor/Verdugo

RF – Puig/Verdugo/Toles

SP – Buehler, Kershaw,  Hill, Kenta, Wood, Urias, Stripling, Dennis Santana, Brock Stewart

RP – Jansen, Baez, Ferguson, Alexander, Fields, Chargois, Floro, Cingrani, Goeddel

Going to miss Ryu. Don’t expect Kershaw to leave but we will know in a few days. I’ll have thoughts on that today.

The Dodgers have a ton of money to work with even with Clayton optioning in. If he doesn’t that is an additional $32,000,000 to work with.

I expect them to add a short-term catcher, another starting pitcher, several relief pitchers. Players I don’t expect to be on the team come April 1st that aren’t currently free agents.

Alex Wood – arb eligible, could be the price for a catcher or a relief pitcher

Brock Stewart – a trading piece, for what I don’t know

Andrew Toles – he’s just so redundant with Alex Verdugo on the team, and Cody Bellinger now a Center Fielder.

Any number of the current relief staff except Jansen, Baez, Ferguson.

This is still a fairly young team with Muncy, Taylor, Kiké, Seager, Puig, Joc, Bellinger, Verdugo, Toles, Wood, Buehler, Urias, and Ferguson all under the age of 28.

Maybe just maybe they can grow into a World Championship.