We are less than two weeks until pitchers and catchers report, and there is a lot to unpack, and still possible transactions – can you say, Mookie Betts? – to be made.
This time last year, Bryce Harper was playing the long game and still not close to sniffing the pine tar.
Looking at the landscape of the league, and the signings of free agents over the offseason, it seems as if the Los Angeles Dodgers have gotten better, without making a single impactful move.
How is that possible?
The old adage of “addition by subtraction.” The difference is, it’s not the Dodgers themselves who have been subtracting.
Every single National League contender has lost players and, on paper, got worse than they were in 2019.
The Washington Nationals retained Stephen Strasburg but lost a key clog in Anthony Rendon. The Atlanta Braves lost Josh Donaldson, and neither team replaced their bat in the lineup.
All of the free-agent talents went to the American League for 2020, with the biggest movers and shakers in the A.L. and N.L. being the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, respectively. The Arizona Diamondbacks made some recent moves with the addition of Starling Marte, so they will be more competitive in 2020. However, clearly, the National League road runs through Chavez Ravine this year.
With the reduction in talent in the National League, and the anger the Dodgers must-have for being cheated out of two consecutive world series, their window for a championship has never been as wide open as it is now.
Featured Image: Matt Kartozian/USA TODAY Sports
