The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield was a revolving door in 2017, as other than Yasiel Puig in right field, manager Dave Roberts mixed and matched to fill out the other two positions for most of the season.
Regardless of who was out there, though, the team defense was above average as the Dodgers made just 88 errors on the season, good for 12th overall. Puig made major strides in 2017 at the plate, but especially on the defensive side as he was arguably the best right fielder in all of baseball.
He finished second in the Gold Glove voting to Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs, but did win the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for right fielders.
Dodgers fans had the privilege of watching Puig and the rest of the outfielders make outstanding play after outstanding play this season. As the year comes to an end the team posted a highlights video to document top defensive plays, via their official team Twitter:
Run on @YasielPuig? Don’t.
Here are some of the best plays from the outfield this season. #Dodgers2017 pic.twitter.com/fjbQedC6kU
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 27, 2017
The Dodgers were one of the most versatile teams in the Majors this past season, as a lot of their contributions in the outfield came from natural infielders such as Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger and Kiké Hernandez.
Taylor played across the diamond for the Dodgers, but in the second half of the season, he settled into the everyday center field job despite never playing the position prior to this year.
Bellinger, who is the Dodgers first baseman of the future, saw time at all three outfield positions when Adrian Gonzalez was at first base.
Going into 2018 the Dodgers still have question marks surrounding their starting outfield. Puig will be in right and Taylor will likely occupy center field. That leaves Joc Pederson, Andrew Toles, Alex Verdugo, Hernandez and possibly even Matt Kemp competing for that final outfield spot.
But as has been the case the last few seasons, Roberts will utilize his depth and mix and match for much of the season as the Dodgers look to win their sixth straight division title in 2018.
