The Los Angeles Dodgers started the 2025 season with the best offense in baseball and carried that through most of the year, but things have tailed off significantly over the last five weeks.
Since July, the Dodgers have one of the worst offenses as they rank 27th among all clubs in runs scored. That decline has been fueled by injuries and multiple slumps, mostly to the star players the Dodgers rely on.
Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, Andy Pages and Michael Conforto have all dealt with extended slumps this year. The Dodgers also were without Max Muncy for a major stretch of time.
But despite those struggles, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is confident in Dodgers hitters and believes things will turn around for the better, via “Dodger Talk” with David Vassegh:
“We still believe in these guys. So now it’s about how do we get each guy back to their respective bests? It’s different for each guy, but I feel confident we’ll be able to get there. Until we do, there’s an uneasiness, but I believe in the guys on the offensive side and what they’re capable of. Feel like it should be way more of a strength than a weakness as we head down the stretch, but we’ve got to make that happen.”
Friedman also stated the trade deadline wouldn’t help the Dodgers’ current issues, which he noted was an increased strikeout rate and lack of quality at-bats throughout the lineup. Instead, the Dodgers added a fourth outfielder to their mix of hitters without making any splash.
The Dodgers have continued to say they’re 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.
Freeman also echoed that belief that the Dodgers’ success this year hinges on their star hitters turning things around.
“I think five or six months ago in Spring Training, we were talking about how great of a team we have,” he recently said. “We still have that great of a team. Obviously some of us haven’t played as well, so it’s on us to get going. A few of us are getting going right now, and I think we’re going to be just fine going forward.”
Dodgers need to reduce strikeouts
The Dodgers have struck out close to 25% of their at-bats over the last five weeks, which is one of the worst marks in MLB. Prior to July, the Dodgers were only striking out 21.1% of the time, which ranked as the 10th-best mark among all teams.
“You’ve got to find a way to put the ball in play and force something to happen,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Because yeah, I think if you look at the strikeout rate the last few weeks, it’s certainly up there. We’ve got to get better.”
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!
