The Los Angeles Dodgers again fell short of reaching the World Series, but that does not take away from the success they had in 2016. In particular, rookie manager Dave Roberts guiding the club to a fourth consecutive National League West title.
It wasn’t easy for Roberts and his staff, as the Dodgers placed a Major-League record 28 different players on the disabled list throughout the year.
They faced the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series and despite falling down 2-1 in the series, battled back to win the series in five games. Los Angeles then faced the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series.
They shutout the Cubs in consecutive games to take a 2-1 series lead, but then ran out of some steam and the Cubs’ offense awoke, resulting in three straight wins to end the Dodgers’ season.
Going into this offseason the team’s front office will have their hands full, as they have nine free agents. Most notably, Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner are on the market.
While there’s plenty left to be settled in the coming weeks and months for not only the Dodgers, but throughout the league, ESPN’s David Schoenfield released power rankings for the 2017 season.
He placed the Dodgers fourth, behind the Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Nationals:
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
2016 record: 91-71
Final ranking: No. 4Look, I don’t like the bloated payroll full of expensive, injury-prone starting pitchers, either, but it’s not our money being flushed down Chavez Ravine. They still have the best pitcher in the game in Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda is solid and youngsters Julio Urias and Jose De Leon have star potential. And that’s aside from whatever Scott Kazmir, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy have to offer. As we saw in the playoffs, adding some right-handed bats and re-signing Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen will be top priorities.
Re-signing Turner and Jansen is at the top of the Dodgers’ list this offseason. Turner cemented himself as one of the Dodgers’ best hitters since joining the team in 2014, and Jansen proved how valuable he is this postseason, pitching multiple innings whenever he was needed.
The division rival San Francisco Giants, who ESPN ranked seventh in the 2017 power rankings, will likely attempt to sign Jansen after their bullpen struggled mightily this season. That led to the Dodgers passing the Giants in the standings after San Francisco led by eight games midway through the season.
In other notable 2017 projections, the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook has the Dodgers tied for the second-highest odds at 10-1 to win the World Series next season.
