The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most aggressive team this winter in reinforcing their roster, diving deep into the organization’s resource pool. Their commitment to a singular focus has amassed a clear offensive juggernaut.
The Dodgers don’t seem to have a true weakness on paper when analyzing their projected lineup. By most accounts, the Dodgers roster has improved from a group that won the World Series.
But for all their might and potential, defense might be one of the softer spots for the team.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, one MLB executive has questions about the Dodgers’ defense because of some of their alignment decisions:
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but one rival executive views defense as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ one potential weakness.
The executive, granted anonymity for his candor, sees it like this: Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto lack range in the outfield corners. Center fielder Tommy Edman is a better infielder than outfielder. The infield, too, is not without concerns.
Not mentioned by the executive, but there also is the reality of Mookie Betts shifting to shortstop and Hyeseong Kim potentially becoming the regular second baseman as a rookie.
Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernández is stated to play right field, Michael Conforto in left, with Tommy Edman potentially taking over in center field. However, Roberts recently said center field still needs to be settled.
Among the trio, their UZR/150 production over the last two seasons at their projected positions pushes back on concern a slight bit. Hernández, Conforto and Edman all have been near or well above league-average over that span.
The Dodgers don’t have a defensive stalwart who can patrol all three outfield positions with a plus-glove, and perhaps that is on their to-do list if things do go south.
Is outfield a concern for Dodgers?
Defensively, the outfield could present some trouble for the Dodgers, but not necessarily to where they would have to prioritize acquiring a player with defense as his go-to trait. Hernández (9.3 UZR/150), Conforto (-0.2) and Edman (1.9) are all solid enough to hold down their respective spots.
Hernández may have some issues with range, but his arm proved to be a quality tool on a number of occasions last year. Conforto stands to be the biggest wild card of the group, but even then, he logged 835 defensive innings in left field in his final year with the San Francisco Giants, which yielded middling results.
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