Ranking Dodgers’ Biggest Competitors in the NL This Season
Once again, the Dodgers will enter the regular season as one of the better teams in baseball. It’s been a consistent pattern each of the last 10-plus years, but it has only resulted in one World Series title, in 2020.
Los Angeles is coming off another season where they fell short of their goals and were bounced in the first round by a division rival. That marks two straight years for the Dodgers and they will be looking to make sure it doesn’t become a third.
The National League is full of talented teams, but there are tiers to their contender status. The Dodgers will be the hunted this season after their strong offseason. But who are their biggest competitors in the NL?
Here are the five biggest competitors for Los Angeles this season.
5. San Francisco Giants
The Giants had a sneaky good offseason, especially with their recent addition of reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Snell and Logan Webb give the Giants a dynamic one-two punch at the top of the rotation to work with.
However, the rest of the starters leave a little to be desired. Lefty Robby Ray could provide something for them, but he is starting the year on the injured list while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Adding Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee should give their offense a nice push forward, as well as their signing of veteran third baseman Matt Chapman. San Francisco wanted to push the envelope this offseason and they did so by building a well-rounded team that has a mix of veteran and young talent.
This is a team that could surprise some this season.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
After reaching the World Series in 2022, the Phillies looked like they were destined to get back in 2023 after going up 3-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. However, they collapsed and blew the three-game series lead.
Now Philadelphia is ready to get themselves back to that spot after two years of postseason experience. They still have one of the scarier offensive lineups in baseball and added some nice pieces around the edges of the roster such as veteran infielder Whit Merrifield.
If the pitching can hold up past Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, the Phillies will be right in the thick of everything again. This is a team that nobody wants to see in a short playoff series, so if the Dodgers are to face them, hopefully, it wouldn’t be until the NLCS.
3. San Diego Padres
After a failed 2023 season, the Padres decided to spend this offseason shedding salary. Star outfielder Juan Soto is gone, but San Diego does have a nice infusion of young talent along the roster.
The lineup still has Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts. They still have star power and all of them should be much better than they were a year ago.
While their starting rotation has some questions in it, their addition of right-hander Dylan Cease was massive. Alongside Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, Cease gives more credibility to this rotation when just a few weeks ago, pitching was their biggest worry.
This team knows what happened last year and has had to hear it all winter, so they will be out for blood. Don’t sleep on the Padres this season, they may just prove to be more formidable than many have thought.
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona is the number one divisional target of the Dodgers this season after they embarrassed them in the postseason last year. While the Diamondbacks are still a young team, they showed great poise, making it to the World Series.
However, the front office wasn’t satisfied with the surprise World Series run but rather decided to double down on their winning efforts. They landed Eduardo Rodriguez in free agency to boost their starting rotation, while also trading for infielder Eugenio Suárez to boost their offense.
Arizona also landed outfielders Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk to give them some extra depth across the lineup. Additionally, their young players got plenty of experience last season on the playoff run.
This team got a taste of winning and they will surely be looking for more. All offseason they’ve heard about how the Dodgers got better and will be looking to prove themselves again.
1. Atlanta Braves
This one is easy, but the Braves do pose a great threat to Los Angeles. They were the best team all season last year but did get knocked out in the NLDS, just like the Dodgers.
They will be looking for some redemption as well and added some new weapons to the mix. Trading for starter Chris Sale gives Atlanta another quality arm in the rotation. If Sale can stay healthy, he could end up being a steal for the Braves.
They traded for outfielder Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners, who just put together his best season in the majors. He hit .253 with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in over 105 games. Atlanta also added veteran Adam Duvall to give themselves more depth in the outfield.
Like the Dodgers, the Braves have their big three. Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. leads the way, with Matt Olson and Austin Riley right beside him. The Braves roster is one of the few that can go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers on paper, making them the biggest threat in the NL.
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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