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The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series after a historic offseason. They spent over $1 billion on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and did not stop there. Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, and Jack Flaherty all came aboard as well. They won their division, faced elimination only once, and won their second World Series of the decade. But the Dodgers will not repeat as World Series champions for these four reasons.
There has not been a repeat World Series champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees. The other three major sports leagues have all had repeat champions since then. A Dodgers fan could take that to mean that baseball is due for a true dynasty. But the reality is that it is difficult to win two straight titles with a 162-game season and a growing playoff bracket. The Dodgers added Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Michael Conforto, and kept Teosacar Hernandez and Kike Hernandez. With that roster, they could be the first repeat World Series winner in a generation.
But the Dodgers will not win the World Series this year for these four reasons despite their insane offseason.
The Dodgers are not the only National League powerhouse
While the Dodgers got better this offseason, other National League teams were doing the same. Juan Soto is on the Mets, Corbin Burnes makes the Diamondbacks a serious contender, and the Cubs added Kyle Tucker. While there were some great NL teams last year, specifically the San Diego Padres, the league has gotten deeper.
The good side of this coin for the Dodgers is that the Padres have taken a step back. Jurickson Profar is now on the Braves, they may trade Dylan Cease, and Scott was their closer last year. So their biggest rival may have gotten worse but a lot of talent migrated from the American to National League this offseason.
This will become a problem during the National League Division Series in October. The best-of-five series has provided problems for the best teams in the past and almost stopped last year's Dodgers team. A five-game series where you have to face Corbin Burnes twice is not a recipe for guaranteed success.
Injuries are a serious concern
Last year, the Dodgers had barely any starting pitchers by the time they got to the World Series. They got zero combined innings from Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone last October, three of their key starters. While they still won the World Series, it does go to show that things can get out of hand quickly in baseball.
The Dodgers have an extraordinary amount of depth because of their free-agent spending. But a lot of those players are older and are more prone to injury than younger prospects. If an outfielder gets hurt, can Andy Pages improve on his 2024? Where will Miguel Rojas play the most this season? There are questions and injuries could make them more complicated.
Their American League World Series opponent should be better
Last year, the Yankees beat themselves in Games 1 and 5 of the World Series with bad defense and a shallow bullpen. They have improved those aspects of the team but did lose Soto. Meanwhile, the Red Sox landed two big fish in Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman and the Rangers should be back after a down year.
While the Yankees had a historic duo in the middle of their lineup, they were a flawed team. Even though a lot of star power went to the National League this offseason, there are better teams in the American League this year. Even if the Yankees make it back to the World Series and play the Dodgers, they should avoid a repeat of 2024.
The Dodgers have had playoff struggles
The Dodgers have made the playoffs in all nine seasons of the Dave Roberts era. While they have won two World Series titles, they have also blown a few great opportunities with losses to inferior teams. The 111-win 2022 team fell in the Division Round to the Padres and the 100-win 2023 squad lost to the Diamondbacks. This team is better than those on paper but anything can happen in October.
When the National League playoffs roll around, there will be a lot of great teams vying for the Dodgers' crown. Even with their All-Star lineup and Cy-Young-caliber rotation, anything can happen in these short series. But if Freddie Freeman and LA have a similar October to last year, this won't be a concern this fall.
