Some important Dodgers are hitting free agency, and they might not sign them all, but they are still the NL West favorites.
... [+]A few things you may have heard over the weekend: The Los Angeles Dodgers, arguably MLB’s best regular season team, are done, knocked out of the NLCS. Also, the team’s chokehold on the NL West has been severely loosened. And finally, the Dodgers have some impactful offseason decisions to make, further weakening their standing as the best team in the league.
That argument also makes assumptions, some of them grand. The first being that the San Francisco Giants, the team that ended Los Angeles’ eight-year run atop the West, will again be able to win upward of 100 games after ripping off a stunning 107 in 2021. The belief ignores the fact that the Giants also have significant free-agent decisions to make – mainly on the pitching side – and that some old veterans made unexpected contributions that will be difficult to repeat.
The Dodgers and Giants both lost a lot to injuries, too. But assuming some better health next year, the Dodgers are currently in the better position to win the division. That’s because the players still under team control and contracts are enough to make the Dodgers the favorites to win a ninth division title in the last 10 years. After a strong playoff performance, expect Cody Bellinger to return to some better form of the 2019 MVP. Gavin Lux also moved his progression forward, and Trea Turner won the NL batting title and hit 28 home runs. Then there’s Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Max Muncy all anchoring that lineup.
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