Prior to the 2024-25 season starting, many had pegged the Los Angeles Dodgers as the prohibitive favorite to win the World Series. They’ve also taken on the ‘evil empire’ moniker in the wake of acquiring multiple stars (Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani) and cultivating a host of very good ones through their farm system and player development.
As the season has progressed, the team has suffered an inordinate amount of injuries to its pitching staff. Despite leading the NL West and firmly in contention to finish with the league’s best record, there are many in the media essentially writing the Dodgers off as a true World Series threat.
The question persists: Is that a fair opinion to have at this point?
Let’s break down where the anti-Dodgers rhetoric comes from. The starting pitching staff as previously mentioned is in rough shape. Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone appear lost for the season. While he’s currently rehabbing, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether Clayton Kershaw will be ready for postseason play. Bobby Miller and Michael Grove have been bad to the point both were optioned to the Minor Leagues.
Tony Gonsolin is in the midst of a long-term rehab program, and his availability is unknown. Yoshinobu Yamamoto recently came back from a lengthy injury list stint. Billed as the projected ace of this staff, he’s yet to throw at least 5.0 innings in any start since coming back. When factoring in Walker Buehler’s inconsistent form, long-term injuries to Emmet Sheehan and River Ryan, and Dustin May’s season-ending elbow injury from the start of the season, you’re left with a very precarious situation.
The Dodgers may be forced to rely on their bullpen considerably should the projected starting rotation for the postseason (Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, Buehler, Landon Knack) not provide the team with much more than four or five innings per start.
With that said, the bullpen is a major strength of this team. Assuming flamethrowing lefty Anthony Banda comes back in the next couple of weeks (which he should), the Dodgers are loaded with experience, velocity, and high-leverage personnel. Daniel Hudson, Ryan Brasier, Blake Treinen, Joe Kelly, and Evan Phillips have all been there before. Alex Vesia is in the midst of a career year. Brusdal Graterol hits 100 miles per hour with ease on his tailing fastball. On the back end is Michael Kopech. The right-handed reliever was acquired at the trade deadline via the Chicago White Sox. Since joining the team, he’s been spectacular — and in the process has given LA a lights-out closer to rely on.
In recent years, the Dodgers have been snake-bit by lineups that are top-heavy and ones that strike out too much. This year’s team seems to be better constructed to combat the rigors of postseason play. Getting Max Muncy back healthy was a major boon for this lineup. Adding Tommy Edman at the deadline — someone with good bat-to-ball skills and positional versatility — was a savvy move. He’s been crushing the ball of late and perfectly fits into the culture of this team. Of course, the team also added Teoscar Hernandez and the aforementioned Ohtani to a lineup that already scored tons of runs last year. The length this team boasts is immense. You can make a strong argument objectively speaking that this team has the deepest order in the league.
Of course, it all starts at the top with the Ohtani-Betts-Freeman trio. If those three are hot, this team will be awfully tough to beat.
If we’re looking at a silver lining from a pitching staff standpoint, Yamamoto has been throwing the ball very well of late. He’s got elite stuff and has proven in his short time within MLB that he can be dominant. Flaherty has been consistent all year long and surely will want to continue impressing in front of his hometown crowd. Buehler has been a bit rocky with his command. However, he’s strung together decent enough starts that his starting a playoff game might not be a total disaster. Knack is a youngster with a fresh arm, and he also has good enough stuff to be an X-factor.
The Dodgers might not be at full power given the injury to Glasnow specifically. Still, with the thump in this lineup — coupled with the bullpen prowess and collective experience this team has — you should not be sleeping on them.
