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The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series crown by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. Their organization is known to spend a ton of money to shore up their lineup despite winning the crown already.
As the Washington Nationals started selling their best players, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer were two phenomenal acquisitions in the trade deadline by the Dodgers. Turner's all-around skills boosted L.A. late in the regular season, but Turner needed to step up in the absence of Max Muncy in the playoffs, and he did not. Scherzer's insertion to the starting rotation composed of Walker Buehler and Julio Urias was fantastic for LA for most of the stretch run, but not in the National League Championship Series.
After defeating the best team in MLB, the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers were oozing with confidence entering their NLCS series against the Atlanta Braves once again. However, they started the series on the wrong foot in two walk-off victories by the Braves at Truist Park. L.A. tried bouncing back by winning two of the next three games, but Atlanta wrapped it up at home in six.
As the Dodgers are eager to bounce in 2022, here are three bold moves they must do to reclaim the World Series crown.
Dodgers moves:
Shore up their bullpen by adding veteran relief pitchers
Kenley Jansen has been a consistent closer for the Dodgers over the last seasons as the variety of his fastballs and sliders continue to be unhittable for opponents. However, having a multitude of relief pitchers is integral come playoff time because starters are pulled earlier than normal. A shallow bullpen can spell the difference in a series as Atlanta had that fabulous backend of their bullpen composed of Will Smith, Tyler Matzek, and Luke Jackson.
Even with Jansen, the Dodgers have trouble finding consistent production from their relief pitchers, thus prompting manager Dave Roberts to allow Urias or Scherzer pitch from the bullpen. Surrendering two walk-off victories to Atlanta is the perfect indicator that LA must focus on shoring up their pitching. Forcing their star-studded trio of Buehler, Urias, and Scherzer to pitch on short rest in the NLDS worked out well, but their exhaustion were very evident in the NLCS.
Acquire starting pitchers to bolster their rotation
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For others that may forget, former Cy Young award winners Clayton Kershaw and David Price are still part of the 40-man roster of the Dodgers. Their play has heavily dropped from their prime years, thus prompting Roberts to constantly just rely on Scherzer, Buehler, and Urias. There are still many question marks surrounding the playoff performance of both Kershaw and Price. Trevor Bauer is another impressive ace that played for the Dodgers this season, but his off-field issues prevented him from completing their campaign.
Roberts elected to start with an opener like Cory Knebel rather than deploying a fourth starter in the playoffs. For instance, the Giants acquired starting pitchers that were not highly in demand like Alex Wood or Kevin Gausman, but their performances highly exceed expectations for the 107-win Giants squad. With Scherzer, Kershaw, and Bauer (could opt out) entering free agency, their team could try signing Marcus Stroman or Eduardo Rodriguez as a major boost to their starting pitching. A deep and reliable rotation is a massive asset for an organization that possesses All Star caliber batters in all positions already.
Sign another superstar outfielder in free agency
By losing Kike Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, and Joc Pederson, the outfield depth of the Dodgers was still expected to be phenomenal with one of the best players Mookie Betts. However, Roberts was continually rotating his starting outfields every game because the production was not consistent enough to get to the World Series.
Cody Bellinger had the game-deciding single in the NLDS as he is already known to produce when the stakes are its highest, but he has had trouble consistently dealing with left handed pitching. Chris Taylor and AJ Pollock had their own crucial hits in the midst of their playoff run, but these outfielders were outplayed by the outfielders of Atlanta: Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Pederson. Rosario went on a tear in the NLCS, while Duvall and Pederson are reliable home run threats every single game.
As the Dodgers are expected to compete once again with powerhouse teams like Atlanta next season, they must enhance their depth at the outfield position. It must be painful that they saw Hernandez have a legendary playoff run for the Boston Red Sox, but the Dodgers could rectify their mistake by signing a big name like Starling Marte in free agency. These two outfielders could possibly provide a huge boost to the Dodgers franchise that underperformed in their 2021 campaign.
With Roberts searching for answers to improve on their team for next season, the Dodgers fans can remain pleasant and optimistic as this team is destined to continue competing for the World Series with their core over the next years in the highly competitive National League.
