MLB Season Preview - Los Angeles Dodgers

2016 Record: 91-71	Manager: Dave Roberts (2015)
1st  in Division	General Manager: Farhan Zaidi (2014)
Beat the Nationals in the NLDS 3-2 Lost to the Cubs in the NLCS 2-4	AAA Affiliate: Oklahoma City Dodgers AA Affiliate: Tulsa Drillers

News

• Acquired P Vidal Nuno from Seattle for C Carlos Ruiz
• Acquired 1B/OF Darin Ruf and UT Darnell Sweeney from Philadelphia for UT Howie Kendrick
• Acquired 2B Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay for SP Jose De Leon
• Acquired OF Brett Eiber from Oakland for INF Jordan Tarsovich
• Traded P Vidal Nuno to Baltimore for P Ryan Moseley
• Re-signed CP Kenley Jansen to a 5 year, $80 million deal
• Re-signed 3B Justin Turner to a 4 year, $64 million deal
• Re-signed SP Rich Hill to a 3 year, $48 million deal
• Re-signed 2B Chase Utley to a 1 year, $2 million deal

Players Lost in the Offseason

POS.	Player	New Team	Contract
OF	Josh Reddick	Houston Astros	4 years, $52 million
P	Jesse Chavez	Los Angeles Angels	1 year, $5.75 million
P	Joe Blanton	Washington Nationals	1 year, $4 million
SP	Brett Anderson	Chicago Cubs	1 year, $3.5 million
RP	J.P. Howell	Toronto Blue Jays	1 year, $3 million

Incoming Free Agents

POS.	Player	Old Team	Contract
RP	Sergio Romo	San Francisco Giants	1 year, $3 million
OF	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	1 year, $2.6 million
p	Brandon Morrow	San Diego Padres	1 year, $1.25 million
C	Bobby Wilson	Tampa Bay Rays	1 year, $1 million

Top Prospects

• 1B/OF Cody Bellinger - MLB.com (12), BA (7), BP (26)
• RHP Yadier Alvarez - MLB.com (49), BA (26), BP (23)
• OF Alex Verdugo - MLB.com (61), BA (58), BP (66)
• 2B Willie Calhoun - MLB.com (82), BA (92)
• RHP Walker Buehler - MLB.com (93), BP (94)
• OF Yusniel Diaz - BP (90)

Projected Lineup

Order	POS	Number	Bats	Name	Age
1	2B	11	R	Logan Forsythe	30
2	SS	5	L	Corey Seager	22
3	3B	10	R	Justin Turner	32
4	1B	23	L	Adrian Gonzalez	34
5	C	9	S	Yasmani Grandal	28
6	CF	31	L	Joc Pederson	24
7	RF	66	R	Yasiel Puig	26
8	LF	60	L	Andrew Toles	24
Bench	C/IF	15	R	Austin Barnes	27
Bench	IF	26	L	Chase Utley	38
Bench	UT	14	R	Enrique Hernandez	25
Bench	OF	16	L	Andre Ethier	34
Bench	OF	28	R	Franklin Gutierrez	34

Projected Pitching Staff

Role	POS	Number	Throws	Name	Age
1	SP	22	L	Clayton Kershaw	29
2	SP	18	R	Kenta Maeda	28
3	SP	44	L	Rich Hill	37
4	SP	29	L	Scott Kazmir	33
5	SP	38	R	Brandon McCarthy	33
LR	RP	57	L	Alex Wood	26
MID	RP	43	L	Luis Avilan	27
MID	RP	41	R	Chris Hatcher	32
MID	RP	75	L	Grant Dayton	29
SU	RP	54	R	Sergio Romo	34
SU	RP	52	R	Pedro Baez	29
CL	RP	74	R	Kenley Jansen	29
DL	SP	99	L	Hyun-jin Ryu	30
DL	RP	63	R	Yimi Garcia	26

Most Important Player

• SP Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw is similar to Mike Trout in that there really isn't any other option for this category than Kershaw.  The Dodgers have a really good pitching rotation that ranks high in the majors but it is weakened severely anytime that Kershaw misses time.  Last season, Kershaw was having perhaps the greatest season in history, with a 1.69 ERA, 172 strikeouts to just 11 walks, and a 1.80 FIP.  He missed quite a bit of time at the end of the season, however, and made just 21 starts.  He still managed to finish fifth in N.L. Cy Young Award voting and probably would have run away with the award had he not missed starts. Kershaw leads a rotation that includes numerous starters who have had injury problems in the past and he will need to stay healthy and pitch like he has throughout his career to push the Dodgers towards a divisional crown.

Breakout Candidate

• OF Andrew Toles - 2016 was Toles' first experience in the major leagues and played quite well in his 48 games.  He batted .314 with three home runs and 16 RBIs and should have the opportunity to get quite a bit of playing time in the Dodgers over-crowded outfield.  I think that he will probably end up platooning with a right-handed batter in one of the corner outfield positions.  He should probably get around 300 at-bats this season and will be able prove if the success he had in his brief stint last year was what he is capable of going forward or just a mirage.

Regression Candidate

• 1B Adrian Gonzalez - Gonzalez has quietly been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball over the past decade, regularly putting up 25 plus home runs, 100 RBIs, 150 runs, all while batting around .300 and getting on-base at a great clip.  The past two seasons Gonzalez has seen his production start to slip and hasn't eclipsed the 100 RBI plateau in either season and only hit 18 home runs last season.  I think that he is starting to trend downward, a commonality for a player who will be 35 in May and could see this decline continue in 2017.

Bounceback Candidate

• RF Yasiel Puig - Puig's first two seasons in the majors were amazing, batting around .300 each season, showing glimpses of power, and playing an electric game in every facet.  He even finished second in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting his rookie season.  The past two seasons, however, Puig has struggled both on and off the field, often looking like he isn't focused and lacking in effort and was even sent to the minors last season as a result.  This offseason there have been multiple reports referring to the effort Puig has put forth to find his game once again. In Spring Training so far he has looked quite good, batting .250 with three home runs.  I think Spring Training is a sign of things to come this season and he will perform quite well.

Season Outlook

• The Dodgers have won the N.L. West each of the past four seasons and are one of the favorites to win the N.L. Pennant in 2017.  They have the biggest payroll in baseball by a large margin and the team's ownership group is willing to spend to get to and win a World Series.  They are in a good position to reach that goal considering they have the best pitcher in baseball in Clayton Kershaw, one of the best pitching rotations, a good bullpen, and a solid lineup, although it is platoon-heavy.  This offseason, the team's front office acquired 2B Logan Forsythe for pitching prospect Jose De Leon in order to strengthen their infield, give them a good contact hitter at the top of their lineup, and also give them another right-handed hitter.  I think that Forsythe is a good enough hitter in his own right but I'm not certain that he is worth the value that the Dodgers gave up to acquire him.  They also re-signed 3B Justin Turner, a move I feel they had to make in order to field a competitive lineup.  If there is one question mark of the Dodgers' offense it is their outfield, where they have six potential outfielders on their MLB roster plus two more who played for them last season for the three outfield positions.  I think that they will end up platooning quite a bit and perhaps Joc Pederson will receive some days off against left-handed pitchers.  In their pitching staff, they have a lot of question marks regarding pitchers who have had extensive injury histories.  Kershaw will be coming off a season in which he only made 21 starts, Rich Hill is 37 years old and continues to have lingering blister problems and Hyun-jin Ryu has made one start in two seasons.  There is probably a very good chance that they acquire another starting pitcher this season to strengthen their rotation behind Kershaw. Perhaps that pitcher is Zack Greinke, with whom the Dodgers have an extensive relationship with. Luckily for the Dodgers, they have a fairly strong bullpen to clean up when the rotation doesn't come through.  They were able to re-sign Kenley Jansen in a move that was very important to the team as he is one of the best closers in baseball and they signed him to a deal cheaper than they would have paid on the open market.  The Dodgers should be really good in 2017 and I think will compete with the Cubs, Nationals, and Giants for the N.L. Pennant.

Predictions

• I think that the Dodgers will win the N.L. West by a few games with a record of 92-70 and be the third best team in the National League.  That is with their current roster and if they can acquire another quality starting pitcher, I think that they will have a good chance to win the pennant. 

*All stats and information came from baseball-reference.com, mlb.com, espn.com, spotrac.com, fangraphs.com, baseballprospectus.com, baseballamerica.com, and rosterresource.com