The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense has been inconsistent at best for more than a month, and more often than not, it’s been an issue for the team rather than a strength.
Since the start of July, the Dodgers are hitting just .231/.302/.385 as a group, and they’ve scored just 116 runs, which ranks 27th among all teams. They’ve also struck out in 24.8% of their plate appearances, the third-highest rate over that stretch, and they’re in the middle of the pack with an 8.4% walk rate.
Instead of adding a starting player to their offense at the trade deadline, the Dodgers opted to acquire Alex Call, who fills in as their fourth outfielder. They were connected to Steven Kwan, but decided against making a splashy trade.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman believes the Dodgers could not have made a trade that would fix their overall issues on offense, he said during an appearance on “Dodger Talk” on AM 570 LA Sports:
“We value decision making, getting a good pitch to hit, grinding the pitcher. I think that’s the DNA of this offense and what we’ve been over the years. Obviously, since late June, our offense hasn’t performed at a level we expected. And I think some of that is we’re striking out more. We’re not working the same quality of at-bats. They are things a trade deadline wasn’t going to help us address.”
While the Dodgers could have slightly improved their offense by adding a player such as Kwan, the overall issues of their star players struggling still exists. The addition of Kwan or anyone else would not fix Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, or anyone else struggling.
The Dodgers are instead betting on their star players turning things around and producing closer to their career norms. If that happens, they’ll have one of the top offenses in baseball once again.
If it doesn’t, they would’ve needed to trade for an entirely new offense at the trade deadline, which just isn’t realistic.
The offense has shown some signs in August of figuring things out, mainly with Freddie Freeman recently breaking out of his extended slump and Hernández also having a nice stretch of games.
The Dodgers offense has already shown they can be elite. From the start of the season through June, no team scored more than their 477 runs, and they also led MLB with a .263 average and .798 on-base plus slugging.
They have the talent, now it’s just about getting them back on track after an extended slump.
Dave Roberts shares message to Mookie Betts
Betts is one of the main players the Dodgers need to turn things around. The entire season has been a struggle for him, and it’s been weighing on the Dodgers shortstop.
Manager Dave Roberts contemplated moving Betts down in the Dodgers lineup, but ultimately decided against it. Roberts believes his commitment to Betts sends a message that he believes will be beneficial.
“I think for me, it’s more trying to instill confidence in Mookie,” Roberts said. “He’s doing everything he can to prepare, to perform. Knows his value to the club.
“I do think his value as a baseball player has been additive, speaking to the defense. And I think for me, it’s really not giving him any out, appreciating he’s the best option we have near the top.
“If that’s not confidence from a manager to a player, I don’t know what is. That when you’re scuffling and going through it, I’m not going to waver. My only ask for him, and I told him this, is, ‘I want you to have as much confidence in yourself as I do, and it’ll turn.’”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
