Major Additions: Logan Forsythe, Sergio Romo, Franklin Gutierrez, Brandon Morrow
Major Losses: Josh Reddick, Carlos Ruiz, Howie Kendrick, Jose De Leon, Joe Blanton, Bud Norris, J.P. Howell, Casey Fien
Strengths: Rotation, Offensive Core
Weaknesses: Bullpen Depth
Potential Breakout Stars: Andrew Toles, Trevor Oaks
The Dodgers, baseball's premier spenders, could have had a disastrous offseason. In addition to the plethora of major losses listed above, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Rich Hill, and Chase Utley were all free agents who re-signed with the team. Now, the team is back and strong enough to win another NL West crown. The offense is centered around reigning NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager (.308/.365/.512, 137 wRC+) and power hitters Justin Turner (.275/.339/.493, 124 wRC+) and Adrian Gonzalez (.285/.349/.435, 112 wRC+). Two other power hitters, Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson, struggle with contact but can provide firepower as well, and newcomer Logan Forsythe will be a dynamic threat with his all around hitting abilities. The outfield corners will be interesting to watch, as Yasiel Puig attempts to recapture the magic of his first two years in the majors and supermarket attendant turned outfielder Andrew Toles looks to build on his big rookie season (.314/.365/.505, 132 wRC+). Competing for playing time in the outfield will be Enrique Hernandez, Franklin Gutierrez, and NBA star Klay Thompson's brother, Trayce Thompson. As always, the Dodgers feature an incredibly deep rotation. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball, having posted four straight seasons with ERA's below 2.15 and eight straight seasons with an ERA below 3.00. Kenta Maeda was successful in his first season in American baseball (3.48 ERA, 1.14 WHIP), and Rich Hill will look to continue his out-of-nowhere emergence as one of baseball's better starters. There's not a lot of certainty after those three, but that's not to say there aren't a lot of options. Julio Urias, now 20 years old, put up a 3.39 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP as a rookie last year, but he won't start 2017 in the majors as the Dodgers work to limit his innings. Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has made just one start in the past two seasons due to injuries, will be in the rotation, as he looks to be back in his 2013-2014 form (3.17 ERA, 1.20 WHIP). Alex Wood and Brandon McCarthy are still fighting for a spot, and the Opening Day starting rotation likely won't remain intact throughout the season anyways. Wood was great in 2014 (2.78 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) but hasn't been as great in 2015 and 2016 (3.82 ERA, 1.33 WHIP). McCarthy is incredibly inconsistent, but he's good sometimes so that keeps him in the running. There's also the injured Scott Kazmir and prospect Trevor Oaks who could see time later in the season. Kenley Jansen returns as one of baseball's top relievers, while Sergio Romo joins the team after a successful run in San Francisco. Grant Dayton (2.05 ERA, 0.76 WHIP) surprised everybody last year as a 28 year old rookie, and he should be able to sustain that success this year. Ross Stripling will be a full time reliever this year, and Chris Hatcher and Adam Liberatore will try to find consistency. Unfortunately, Pedro Baez, Josh Ravin, Brock Stewart, and Yimi Garcia are all injured, putting a major dent in their bullpen depth. Getting the ball to Romo and Jansen may be a struggle this year. Overall, the Dodgers will lean on the star power of Kershaw, Seager, Jansen, Turner, Gonzalez, and Maeda, while the supporting cast of Grandal, Pederson, Forsythe, Hill, Romo, and Dayton will help push this team back to the playoffs.
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