Dodgers: Here’s why fans shouldn’t panic about Giants acquiring Kris Bryant

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the trade deadline.

We could’ve told you that 24 hours before Friday’s 4 p.m. ET cutoff after they netted all-world hurler Max Scherzer and star shortstop Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers obviously needed to make moves to bolster their own championship odds. As stocked as this roster is, they’ve started to feel the effects of losing nearly half of their starting rotation and guys like Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts not living up to expectations.

However, they also had to be aggressive to stay on par with the Giants and Padres, both of whom  are capable of ending the Dodgers’ eight-year reign as NL West champs.

While the Giants didn’t push the envelope as much as we expected them to, they made an excellent addition at the buzzer in the form of Cubs slugger Kris Bryant.

Bryant should fit in seamlessly with the Giants. That isn’t up for debate. However, his seasonal splits vs the Dodgers and Padres, and at Oracle Park, prove fans shouldn’t panic.

Kris Bryant landing with the Giants might not be as bad as it seems on paper.

If Bryant is going to mash against anybody in the division, let it be the Padres. Though Bryant’s numbers vs San Diego are nothing to write home about, they’re markedly better than what he’s managed against the Dodgers and at the Giants’ home stadium this campaign.

While you could argue those aren’t large sample sizes — Bryant has just 16 at-bats vs the Padres, 26 against Los Angeles and just 15 at Oracle Park this year — would you rather it if he absolutely dominated in those scenarios? We didn’t think so.

Additionally, Bryant doesn’t have good career numbers against the Dodgers, either, as he’s slashing .244/.364/.541 in 37 games. And for fans who are curious about the 29-year-old’s career production vs the Padres, he has just as many RBIs (18) and one fewer hit (30) against San Diego as he does vs Los Angeles in six fewer games.

Let’s get one thing clear. We aren’t sharing these splits so we can be like, “We told you Bryant wouldn’t pan out with SFG. The stats were staring you right in the face!”

We’re merely trying to find a silver lining to San Francisco landing one of the game’s best players at the deadline and bolstering their already-overachieving roster, because they aren’t going anywhere and the Dodgers haven’t been able to figure them out in 2021.

Nobody would say the Giants adding Bryant to a lineup that ranks third in MLB in home runs, fourth in OPS and fifth in SLG is ideal for the Dodgers.

However, let’s avoid hitting the panic button until Bryant proves capable of hitting consistently against the Dodgers and at Oracle Park, shall we?

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