After falling short of reaching the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers made some significant changes to their roster, saying good-bye to some fan favorites, adding some reclamation projects and making a run at 2023 with plenty of new faces.
The Dodgers lost Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Tyler Anderson and Cody Bellinger to free agency. They lost Gavin Lux, Tony Gonsolin and Walker Buehler to injuries.
The Dodgers added JD Martinez from the Red Sox and Miguel Rojas from the Marlins.
But perhaps the two most significant additions are Noah Syndegaard and David Peralta.
Let’s start with the additions.
Martinez’s best days are definitely behind him. He is a career .288 hitter and averages about 22 home runs a season. He will be the Dodgers regular designated hitter, but don’t expect any sudden power surges from him. He hit 16 home runs and drove in 62 runs playing for the Red Sox last season.
Rojas was supposed to be insurance, a safety net for Lux and maybe even a complement to Chris Taylor as a super utility player. Instead, it looks like Rojas will be the starting shortstop. He proved while playing with the Marlins he is an everyday major league infielder. But he’s nothing special either. He is probably a better fielder than most. But his bat is mediocre at best. He hit .236 with six home runs with the Marlins last season. He won’t hurt the Dodgers, but he might not be much help either.
No one is going to confuse Rojas with Trea Turner. Then again, there aren’t many players in the league that can play baseball at the level of Trea Turner. Rojas has huge shoes to fill.
Peralta brings a surprising bat and underrated glove to the team. Playing for the Diamondbacks, he was able to fly under the radar. But Dodger fans learned who he is and how good he can be at times. He won a Gold Glove in left field in 2019 and is a career .281 hitter. He will find a comfortable home in the outfield for the Dodgers.
Syndegaard brings an entertaining Twitter account and great hair to the Dodgers rotation. He has a serviceable right arm, but he is not the pitcher who could throw 100 mph fastballs on a regular basis anymore. No one is going to confuse him with the Thor he was with the Mets. But he will fill in nicely as the new Tyler Anderson on the Dodgers pitching staff.
Trea Turner is a huge loss.
Justin Turner is another huge loss. His beard, his pine tar stain on his shoulder, his game-saving diving tags in the World Series are all going to be missed.
No one on the Dodgers can match Bellinger’s defense in the outfield. But Jason Heyward, Trayce Thompson and Peralta are all upgrades at the plate. Bellinger’s MVP days are gone and so are his strikeouts.
Lux ran out of good luck, found a whole bunch of bad luck in spring training, and now he’ll have to wait at least a year before he will have another shot at being an everyday starter. It’s too bad. The Dodgers obviously thought he was good enough to play shortstop in Trea Turner’s shadow. Dodger fans were ready to see how good he really is. Patience is a virtue and apparently a curse for Dodgers prospects. All in good time.
Losing Gonsolin probably hurts the most. He leaves a huge hole in the rotation. He probably should have been the starter for the National League in the All Star Game. He was in the running for the Cy Young Award. He was quickly becoming the heir apparent to Clayton Kershaw.
Now the Dodgers have to turn to Julio Urias and Dustin May to keep the rotation intact for a while. It’s not a bad place to be, but it’s not ideal.
Opening night is Thursday against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers play the Diamondbacks eight times in their first 10 games.
The Dodgers have a four-game series with the Diamondbacks over the weekend, followed by a two-game series against the Rockies starting on Monday.
That should produce a strong start for the Dodgers.
But if spring training has taught the Dodgers anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
