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When the Los Angeles Dodgers lost their fifth-straight game of the season to the Los Angeles Angels, Dave Roberts left fans with one major departing note: “Now it's a new season. You look at the standings, and we just got to play better baseball and find ways to win games.”
That's right, after having the NL West locked up all season long, the Dodgers' brutal summer of sub-.500 baseball has caused their lead to disappear, with the San Diego Padres fully capable of taking a commanding lead heading into September, especially if they take the series this weekend at Blue Heaven.
But how did LA get to this point? Well, the first culprit has to be injuries, which, in one form or another, have all but destroyed the team's consistency so far this season.
It began on the mound, with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and about a dozen more arms all landing on the IL for one reason or another, leading Roberts to have bullpen games in the middle of the season while forcing players like Ben Casparius, Emmet Sheehan, and Dustin May to take on bigger roles than they were ready for. This starting lineup crunch put extra pressure on the bullpen, leading to LA having one of the most used reserve units in the league, a situation made worse by injuries to Blake Treinen, Kirby Yates, and Tony Gonsolin.
Then, as more and more pitchers became available, with Shohei Ohtani going from a DH-only to a one-inning thrower up to a solid four-to-five inning eater, the Dodgers started to lose offensive players on a seemingly weekly basis, with Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, Kike Hernandez, and Hysong Kim all missing notable time so far this summer. While every team has to deal with injuries, when Muncy went down, the Dodgers' offense seemingly went on IL with him, as in-house replacements like Alex Freeland, Esteury Ruiz, and Justin Dean were simply unable to produce at the same level as the players they are replacing.
Unfortunately, with the trade deadline passed, the Dodgers really don't have many ways to get better heading into the playoffs. Maybe a decent enough veteran hitter will become available on waivers or as a late-season free agent, or an unlikely player will get hot and produce above expectations, but with just Alex Call and Brock Stewart added at the trade deadline, plus three more prospects, any upgrades the Dodgers make will have to be internal.
And yet, because the team regularly plays one of the worst statistical performers in the game right now, there is an opportunity to do a classic addition by subtraction and improve the bottom of the order without sacrificing much in the field. All they have to do is either DFA Michal Conforto or at least exile him to the bench for the foreseeable future.
The Dodgers can't keep playing Michael Conforto
If the Dodgers knew they were getting a sub-.190 hitter when they signed Michael Conforto last December, they likely would have kept their $17 million and used the money elsewhere.
A quite solid performer for the San Francisco Giants over the past two seasons, hitting 35 home runs with a batting average of .238, and an OPS of .740 while being a plus defender, Conforto has seemingly left his offensive production in the Bay Area, with his 2025 numbers falling to career-worst marks pretty much across the board. While his defense has remained solid, he isn't getting on base nearly as often, is seldom working counts into double-digits, and has seemingly lost his confidence at the plate, with multiple huge at-bats ending in tragedy in the Dodgers-Angels series alone.
Now granted, the Dodgers seemingly know that Conforto isn't their guy moving forward, as they traded for another Conforto-style player at the deadline in Alex Call, who can do pretty much everything the team was sold on last December.
And yet, because Call is only starting once or twice a week and has been largely thrust into action as a late-game pinch hitter where he hasn't been effective, what good has it really done? A .274 hitter in Washington, Call has only hit two of the 17 balls thrown his way over eight appearances so far for LA, both of which came in a game he started against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 6.
Would playing Call every day produce better results than continuing to trot out Conforto, expecting different results? Frankly, it's hard to imagine it would produce worse results, especially considering Andy Pages could play left or even right field and allow Call to play in center field.
Fortunately, the Dodgers do have reinforcement waiting for their chance to turn the tide like Gandalf the Wite at Helm's Deep, as Kim could be back in the lineup in the next week, and Edman could be back by the start of September. When those two return, Dean will likely return to OKC, as might Freeland, but the idea of Conforto remaining an everyday performer will almost certainly become a thing of the past, as Edman can play in centerfield and Kim has done enough good to deserve a full-time spot at second base until proven otherwise.
Call can serve as the team's first outfielder off the bench, as can Freeland at third base, second base, and shortstop, and Dalton Rushing has already gotten a taste at first base in place of Freddie Freeman, even if he is still very green at the position at the NFL level.
And as for Conforto? Well, he could be a change of pace option if two outfielders need a break, or a pinch hitter with a chip on his shoulder, but more realistically, he might just be looking for another opportunity elsewhere, where a playoff team in desperate need of outfield help could give him a shot for pennies on the dollar. Considering the Dodgers were willing to DFA Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor earlier this season, there's no reason a 2025 addition like Conforto should get even more chances when he simply isn't producing at even a replacement level.
