2020 -  The Dodgers are a juggernaut. They have won eight straight Division titles

and, finally, won their first World Series in the run in '20. They would be considered

a dynasty except for the lack of World Series rings. Los Angeles has it all and

keeps on adding to their riches, talentwise. One mistake champions make is to

stand pat. You need some movement, however. New blood is important to keep

the juices flowing, keep internal competition up and to not make this season just

an over-extension of last season. New group, new challenges. Not wholesale

changes / additions, but a few key strategic ones.

□  The Guggenheim Baseball Management Group owns the club and it has been

wildly successful since it bought the Dodgers in 2012. They have deep pockets and,

after some initial splurges, have settled down to spending lavishly, but wisely,

There are seven owners with Magic Johnson being the face of the Group.

□  Andrew Friedman, former GM of the Tampa Rays, has been president since

2015. There is no GM. Friedman established himself as a high quality baseball

executive in Tampa, winning on a shoestring, and he has adapted seamlessly

to winning in Los Angeles with mega resources at his disposal.

□  Dave Roberts is manager. He took over for a very successful Don Mattingly in

2016 and has matched Mattingly's success. He's Friedman's guy, Mattingly wasn't.

2020 - The Dodgers lose two of their best pitchers to free agency prior to the season:

RHP Kenta Maeda, 31, and LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, 32.  LA was just clearing the way

for a new generation of studs: LHP Julio Urias, 23, and RHP Dustin May, 22.

The thing that put LA over the top was a trade with Boston for superstar outfielder

Mookie Betts, 27,  and pitcher David Price, 34 (who ended up not playing in '20).

And, with these guys, the Bums finally win the World Series.

2021 - Trevor Bauer, 30, a stud righthander is signed away from the Reds as a

free agent. The rich get richer. Unfortunately, Bauer is suspended from baseball

in July for being a sleazebag.

2021 - At the trade deadline all the Dodgers do is add two superstars from

Washington for four prospects.  Max Scherzer, 36, goes 7-0 1.98

down the stretch, as a three month rental. Meanwhile superstar SS Trea Turner, 28,

chips in with a .950 OPS. Turner will stick around in '22 before leaving for the

Phillies as a free agent in '23. Scherzer replaces the suspended Bauer in the

rotation while Turner will replace SS Corey Seager who is in the final year of

his contract and signs with Texas after the season.

2021 - LA wins 106 games, matching their high in the eight year streak,

but finish second to the Giants by a game. This ends the Division title streak, but

this Dodger team is, arguably, as good as any in the streak. LA also gets

revenge on the Giants by beating them in the NLDS, but the Dodgers fall short

in the post season, once again, losing to the Braves in the NLCS.

2022 - Los Angeles signs superstar 1B Freddie Freeman, 32, away from the Braves.

They are obviously not happy that Atlanta knocked them out in the NLCS.

However, the Dodgers lose their ace closer Kenley Jansen, 33, to the Braves,

in return. It was a pseudo trade of superstars.

LA loses Scherzer in free agency to the Mets and Bauer is banished from

baseball. For a normal team, losing Jansen, Scherzer and Bauer would be an

unmitigated disaster. But for Los Angeles, it just allows the next wave of studs to do

their thing. Lefty Tyler Anderson, 32, who was a bargain FA signing from Seattle,

goes 15-5 2.57 and Righty Tony Gonsolin, 28, moves up from the pen and

goes 16-1 2.14.  This is very deep depth. Next man up in spades.

2022 - The Dodgers win 111, but lose in the NLDS to San Diego. As good as

they have been in the regular season is how disappointing they have been in

the post season. It is very reminiscent of the great Braves teams of the Nineties.

2023 - LA dips a little but still wins over 100 for the third straight year, 100-62.

Once again, they lay an egg in the post season, this time losing to Arizona

who are pretty much outmanned at every position.

2023 - Was a year where the Dodgers re-tooled the roster quite a bit.

Rebuild is not in LA's vocabulary.

Gone were: SS Trea Turner (Phillies); 3B Justin Turner (Boston);

OF Cody Bellinger (Cubs); LHP Tyler Anderson (Anaheim);

plus a bunch of other role players. The Dodgers didn't go nuts in free

agency, however, as there was still a lot in-house. That being said, they brought in

a few pieces: DH JD Martinez (Boston); RHP Noah Syndergaard (Phillies);

RHP Shelby Miller (Giants); OF David Peralta (Arizona).

2024 - The Dodgers have replaced the Yankees as the team that has figured

it out. In the huge markets, you can never spend too much. You will always

make it back and then some. LA goes out and spends 700 million on

crosstown superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Angels. Apparently, the plan is

for him to bat only and not pitch. That's OK for the regular season, but if I

were the Dodgers, I would keep Ohtani in my pocket for the post season

where you can tee him up for at least one guaranteed win in each round.

2024 - LA has a high quality management team and ownership with deep

pockets in one of the biggest markets on the planet. On top of that, the

Dodgers are an iconic franchise with a large and loyal fan base.

Los Angeles has topped ninety wins in every full season since 2013 and

have gone over one hundred wins in the last four full seasons.

That's a regular season dynasty, folks. They are beginning to remind of you

of the Braves dynasty of the Nineties / Early 2000's not only for all of the

winning and dominance during the regular season, but, also for all of the

losing in the post season. And, just like those Braves team, there is no

good explanation for why this team lays an egg year in and year out

come playoff time. It's certainly not a lack of talent.

2024 - Aside from Ohtani, who has established himself as the best hitter in

baseball (on top of being one of the best pitchers in baseball), the Dodgers

also beef up the roster in the off season with Japanese FA righthander

Yoshi Yamamoto, Tampa Bay ace righthander Tyler Glasnow and

hard hitting OF Teoscar Hernandez.

Glasnow and Yamamoto fit in at the top of a rotation that includes last year's

brilliant rookie righthander, twenty four year old Bobby Miller, a former first

round pick and veteran lefthander and future HOFer Clayton Kershaw.

Righty ace Walker Buehler should also be returning from TJ surgery to

complete a formidable rotation. There's also righthander Dustin May coming

back from flexor tendon surgery to give LA even more high quality depth in

the starting rotation. You can also throw in James Paxton, picked up from Boston,

who was quality before getting hurt a few years ago.

The bullpen is in good hands with Evan Phillips the closer and Brusdar

Graterol and Caleb Ferguson altho' I'm surprised the Dodgers didn't add

a bit more depth there.

On the offensive end of things, LA scored 906 runs last season, one run a game

above the league average. Adding Ohtani and Hernandez could be considered

overkill. After all, you already have two future HOF superstar sluggers in the

middle of the lineup in 1B Freddy Freeman and SS Mookie Betts.

And then you've got  C Will Smith, 2B Gavin Lux and 3B Max Muncy to make

the lineup somewhat circular.

Anyway, if you're a Dogers fan, get there in the fourth inning and leave in the

seventh. You will have seen enough and the game should be well in hand by the time

you leave.

2025 - The Dodgers finally win a World Title in '24, their first since 2020 and

only their second in the dozen years that they have been the dominant team in

the major leagues. Pretty much for that entire time, LA has put the more talented

team on the field in every game. They have dominated the regular season but

underachieved in the post season. It had to be a very satisfying win for an

organization that is the class of baseball.

The big moves in the off season were to pick up a pair of lights out closers

in free agency, Tanner Scott from San Diego and Kirby Yates from Texas.

2025 Pitching (Deep Depth) :

□ RHP Shohei Ohtani, 30, '24 FA from Anaheim, injured in '24

□ RHP Blake Snell, 32, '25 FA from Giants, 5-3 3.12 the rich get richer

□ RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 26, '24 FA from Japan, 7-2 3.00

□ RHP Tyler Glasnow, 31, '24 Trade from Tampa, 9-6 3.49

□ RHP Gavin Stone, 26, '20 draft 5th round, 11-5 3.53

□ RHP Tony Gonsolin, 31, '16 draft 9th round, injured in '24

□ RHP Dustin May, 27, '16 draft 3rd round, injured in '24

□ LHP Clayton Kershaw, 37, '06 draft 7th overall pick, 2-2 4.50

□ Closer Tanner Scott, 30, '25 FA from San Diego, 9-6 1.75 22 saves

□ Closer Kirby Yates, 38, '25 FA from Texas, 7-2 1.17 33 saves

□ RHP Michael Kopech, 29, '24 trade from Chicago, 4-0 1.13 6 saves

□ RHP Blake Treinen, 37, '17 trade from Washington, 7-3 1.93

□ RHP Evan Phillips, 30, '21 FA from Tampa, 5-1 3.62 19 saves

□ LHP Alex Vesia, 29, '21 trade from Miami, 5-4 1.76 5 saves

□ LHP Anthony Banda, 31, '24 trade from Cleveland, 3-2 3.08

□ RHP Daniel Hudson, 38, '22 FA from San Diego, 6-2 3.00 10 saves, left as FA

□ RHP Jack Flaherty, 29, '24 trade from Detroit at deadline, 6-2 3.58, left as FA

□ LHP James Paxton, 36, '24 trade to Boston at deadline, 8-2 4.43, retired

□ LHP Ryan Yarbrough, 33, '16 draft 3rd round, 5-2 3.19, left as FA Toronto

2025 Hitting (Are the hitters in decline?) :

□ C Wil Smith, 30, '16 draft 32nd overall pick, 20 75 .248,

□ 1B Freddie Freeman, 35, '22 FA from Braves, 22 89 .282

□ 2B Gavin Lux, 27, '16 draft 20th overall pick, 10 50 .251 - Traded to Reds

□ 2B Hyeseong Kim, 26, '25 FA from Korea

□ SS Miguel Rojas, 36, '23 trade from Miami, 6 36 .283

□ 3B Max Muncy, 34, '17 FA from A's, 15 48 .232

□ CF Tommy Edman, 30, '24 trade from Cardinals, 6 20 .237

□ OF Mookie Betts, 32, '20 FA from Boston, 19 75 .289

□ OF Michael Conforto, 34, '25 FA from Giants, 20 66 .237

□ OF Teoscar Hernandez, 32, '23 trade from Toronto, 33 99 .272

□ OF Jayson Heyward, 35, '23 trade from Toronto, 10 37 .211

□ OF Shohei Ohtani, 34, '24 FA from Anaheim, 54 130 .310