The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t need much help to reach October. Their problems start once they get into the playoffs. A team sitting near the top of the National League is suddenly seeing its offense slide in the wrong direction, making the race for the top two spots in the NL all the more critical. With the Atlanta Braves breathing down their necks, an insider has expressed his concerns about the back-to-back World Series champions.
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“If they don’t get a bye, and they’re neck and neck with the Braves right now, they’re going to be pressed from the start of the postseason. If they’re not hitting, they’re going to be challenged right away,” Ken Rosenthal said on Fair Territory.
“I am worried about the Dodgers, period,” the insider said. “They have incredible starting pitching, and that starting pitching is rounding into form as we get closer to the playoffs. But at the same time, their offense, as I mentioned earlier, is a legitimate concern, and it’s been a concern for quite some time.”
The Dodgers are leading the NL West with an 82-55 record and currently sit behind only the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild-card race. But with Atlanta close behind Los Angeles, if the Braves somehow overtake the Dodgers, Atlanta and Milwaukee would each earn a first-round bye. The defending champions would then become the third-seeded team, meaning they would have to play an extra series in the postseason.
This is exactly where Rosenthal places his concern.
The Dodgers have a .258 batting average, and they are only behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the major leagues. But a deeper look reveals the bigger issue, and that’s exactly what Rosenthal highlighted.
He even pointed out players like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández. Betts is batting at .239 with a .701 OPS while Freeman has been incredible with a .304 AVG and .839 OPS. But Rosenthal mentioned that Freeman is lacking power in his hits. Hernández is struggling with the bat (.708), while Kyle Tucker has been worse (.228 AVG and .683 OPS).
If the Dodgers fail to get a bye, they would probably face the Arizona Diamondbacks or the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. The irony is that the Padres eliminated them in the 2022 NLDS while the D’backs swept them in the 2023 NLDS.
True, the Dodgers played in and triumphed in the Wild Card Series last year before going all the way to win their second consecutive championship. However, Rosenthal isn’t claiming that the team will suffer a premature elimination. Still, it’s hard to argue that the Los Angeles Dodgers will be under a lot of pressure from the get-go.
And having to go through an additional series will not make it any easier.