After bolstering their roster over the winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers were projected by PECOTA to claim an eighth consecutive National League West title while leading MLB in wins this season.
As the organization looks to finally get over the hump in 2020, the rest of the division was slated to be a heap of mediocrity. Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants were all forecasted to finish below .500 this season.
Of course, the Padres have played well and are in postseason contention, and so too are the Giants because of an expanded playoff field in 2020.
As for the Diamondbacks in particular, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was impressed with the front office’s rebuilding efforts, via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic:
“We knew when those guys were hired that we were going to have our work cut out for us,” Friedman said, mentioning Hazen and Diamondbacks assistant GMs Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye.
“And you look at the growth in that organization from when they came in to now, in terms of every important metric: farm-system ranking, runway of talent at the major league level, financial flexibility as they look out – they’ve kind of hit it out of the park on all fronts.”
The Diamondbacks hired Mike Hazen as the successor to former general manager Dave Stewart at the conclusion of the 2016 season. Now in his third year at the helm, Hazen has helped transform the organization’s farm system while adding plenty of talent at the Major League level.
Looking to challenge the Dodgers as soon as this season, the Diamondbacks retooled over the offseason, signing longtime Giants ace Madison Bumgarner to anchor their starting rotation, as well as former L.A. Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun and Chicago Cubs setup man Hector Rondon.
The Diamondbacks also acquired All-Star outfielder Starling Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for two prospects and international bonus slot money.
However, Bumgarner was placed on the 10-day injured list last month due to a mid-back strain, and the Diamondbacks wound up being sellers at the trade deadline. That was then followed by being swept in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Blake Treinen not concerned about Padres
The Dodgers were off Monday — the trade deadline — while the Padres were aggressive in adding to their roster. Most notably they completed a trade for Mike Clevinger, and also acquired Trevor Rosenthal, Mitch Moreland, Jason Casto and Austin Nola.
“This team is really dang good,” Treinen said of the Dodgers. “I know the Rockies and Padres added some pieces that make them a lot better as well, but it just goes to show we’re a good enough team that they’re adding pieces to try to run us down. I’ll take our chances any day.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
