Dodgers: Goldschmidt Trade Shifts the Balance of the NL West

The 2018 off-season is quickly becoming the off-season of the National League. The NL has added former All-Stars like Robinson Cano and Josh Donaldson, who went to the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves respectively and current All-Stars like Edwin Diaz and Jean Segura, who went to the Mets and the Philidelphia Phillies respectively.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers have yet to make a big move.

Besides other teams adding new stars, the Arizona Diamondbacks have lost two All-Stars who have a combined eight All-Star nods between them in starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, and most recently in the former-MVP Paul Goldschmidt. The Dbacks are also more than likely to lose former All-Star centerfielder A.J. Pollock, though he may stay in the NL by joining the New York Mets.

If the Diamondbacks end up losing this trio of All-Stars, and even if they just lose Goldy and Corbin, the team is looking remarkedly different than it did in 2018, when they led the NL West for nearly the entire season, only losing the lead in the final month of the season, first to the Rockies, then to the Dodgers, then both.

With Tajuan Walker returning, and with the infusion of the Cardinal’s Luke Weaver, who came over to Arizona in the Goldschmidt trade, the Diamondbacks rotation should be deeper than it was last season, but this will not make up for the loss of Corbin, who completed 200 innings with a 3.15 ERA in 2018, both career bests.

Taking Goldschmidt out of the lineup will force David Peralta to step up and lead the team in the middle of the order, and though he seemed capable of doing this last season, without Goldschmidt and Pollock, he will have much less protection.

Barring a free agent signing that adds a new first baseman, centerfielder and maybe even a closer, the Diamondbacks do not look to be in good shape for 2019, and will most likely be looking to 2020 and more than likely 2021.

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With this news, the NL West has officially become the weakest division in the NL, and the second-weakest in all of baseball, only trailing the AL Central and their lone contender, the Cleveland Indians. The Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants both will be less-than competitive in 2019 barring any unforeseen offseason moves, and the San Diego Padres still do not have what it takes to climb out of the cellar they have occupied for more than a decade.

In 2019, the divisional race will really just come down to a two-way battle between the Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies. And while the Rockies have made great strides over the past two seasons, making the Wild Card game in back-to-back seasons, they still do not have the talent to get over the hump and take the division. They may not even make the Wild Card game this season with how talented the NL East’s top four teams have become, and with how solid the Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers look in the NL Central.

The Rockies got some great production last season out of breakout All-Stars starting pitcher Kyle Freeland and shortstop Trevor Story, and from “second half All-Star” German Marquez. And though they are all still young, 2019 will be the age 26 season for Freeland and Story while Marquez is just 23, they will be hard-pressed to put up the same numbers in back-to-back seasons.

Unless the Rockies can add more pitching depth to supplement their young stars, they will still be in a subservient position to the Dodgers and should finish second in the NL West once again. With Arizona’s brightest star being shipped east, and with the Rockies not making any major changes as of yet, the Dodgers are in a strong position to win the NL West once again.