While the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the postseason in each of the past three seasons, they’ve yet to advance beyond the National League Championship Series.
After reaching the NLCS in 2013, the Dodgers have been bounced from the NL Division Series in back-to-back seasons.
This offseason has brought plenty of change, with Don Mattingly and the Dodgers mutually agreeing to part ways, wholesale changes to the coaching staff, and Zack Greinke bolting for Arizona.
Greinke’s surprising decision to sign with the Diamondbacks has left the Dodgers reeling a bit in their quest to replace the right-hander.
Failed pursuits of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija followed, and an agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma fell apart due to a failed physical. As a result, some pundits suddenly view the Dodgers as the third-best team in the NL West.
Despite the doubt that’s been cast on the Dodgers, general manager Farhan Zaidi remains confident while acknowledging the club is going through a transition, via Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
“We are trying to be as good as we can be, and if we play up to expectations that will not be an issue,” Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said recently. “Meanwhile, we are undergoing a little transition in which we are trying to get more good prospects into our system.”
Los Angeles recently added to their prospect pool by acquiring Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson in a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has aggressively amassed draft picks and prospects in trades since joining the organization last October; resorting to creative measures to do so when necessary.
Of course, there’s the likelihood the Dodgers will utilize the prospects they’ve added and developed in a trade to land a frontline starting pitcher.
Winning in the years ahead has very much been part of the conversation, just as the Dodgers ending their 27-year World Series drought next season has. In losing Greinke the Dodgers receive a compensatory pick slotted between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft.
Los Angeles will receive another pick if or when Howie Kendrick signs, assuming it is not with the Dodgers.
