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3 mistakes from last offseason Dodgers can’t afford to make again in 2022
Mistakes? Mistakes?! The 106-win 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t make any mistakes, buddy! They were bested by a once-in-a-lifetime campaign orchestrated by the San Francisco Giants.
Yes, partially. But the Dodgers’ holes became evident when the postseason rolled around and it was clear some offseason misses contributed to that. After all, you’re not playing for 106 wins! It’s all about the World Series title. And though going back-to-back is extremely difficult, the Dodgers fell short yet again in October.
Injuries, unforeseen regressions and off-the-field issues played a role, but almost every team deals with those occurrences on a yearly basis. It’s all about preparing yourself so you can weather the storm when they actually do happen. And that’s where the Dodgers made their biggest miscalculation.
Some might say the Atlanta Braves were a team of destiny, but a more capable Dodgers roster likely would’ve dispatched them with relative ease. Though the National League has weakened a bit as the lockout has mostly featured subtractions, the Dodgers aren’t exactly in a great spot having lost Corey Seager and Max Scherzer while also facing uncertain futures with Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen.
The post-lockout frenzy is going to be one for the ages and we have no doubt the Dodgers are prepared. However, they’re going to have to avoid these three miscues from last offseason or 2022 might feature an even earlier playoff exit.
2021 mistakes Dodgers need to avoid for next season.
3. Take the Bullpen More Seriously
If we’re to properly analyze the Dodgers’ 2021 bullpen, the prevailing sentiment would be that they got a bit lucky. Kenley Jansen experienced a 180 bounce back in his age-33 season. Phil Bickford and Alex Vesia emerged out of nowhere. Jimmy Nelson and Corey Knebel held their own when they were available. They got a nice year out of Joe Kelly, but he either won’t be here in 2022 or will be on the mend from a shoulder injury.
Now, with Knebel gone too and Jansen not expected to return (if we are to believe reports), the Dodgers need to take the bullpen more seriously than ever. Each year it just feels like the front office is putting bandages on gushing wounds and the ‘pen is continuously shaky outside of a few stable arms.
If they had added one more reliable lefty or hadn’t banked on Tommy Kahnle making an expedited return from Tommy John surgery, maybe the unit wouldn’t have been terribly exhausted after the starting rotation took hit after hit as the season progressed. Just imagine if Bickford, Vesia, Mitch White and the combo of Nelson and Knebel hadn’t been as good as they were? Then we’re talking unmitigated disaster.
So far the Dodgers added Daniel Hudson this offseason, expect Kahnle back at full strength, and liked what they saw out of Justin Bruihl and Evan Phillips. Those four will be tasked with supplementing the losses of Kelly, Knebel, Nelson (who had season-ending elbow surgery in August) and potentially Jansen. Is that enough?
No, it’s not. Going to need another signing and maybe a few trades here to avoid playing musical chairs in late September.
2. Take Championship-Caliber Depth More Seriously
Shortly after they won the World Series in 2020, the Dodgers let Joc Pederson, Kiké Hernandez, Alex Wood, Jake McGee and Pedro Baez leave in free agency. And hardly added anyone to replace that lost production, especially that of Pederson and Hernandez.
Why? We don’t really know. Pederson made it clear Andrew Friedman called him and said to explore other opportunities, for whatever reason. Hernandez wanted a starting job, but couldn’t the Dodgers have convinced him to stay to be an integral roving piece on a championship team (he pretty much played the same role in Boston!)?
The Dodgers seemed dead set on adding more star power than simply maintaining the unmatchable depth they had built over the last five years. Pederson went on to win a World Series with the Braves. Hernandez had an historic postseason with the Red Sox before they were bounced in the ALCS. Wood and McGee played front-facing roles on the 107-win Giants. Baez was the only one who didn’t do anything, and it was because he was injured.
Are we saying the Dodgers should’ve kept all of these guys? Not at all. They upgraded over Baez and then maximized Chris Taylor’s role even more in wake of Hernandez leaving. But you can’t let all of these pieces leave and expect similar or better results, especially in October.
As the injuries mounted, the Dodgers had few answers, and that’s when their lineup went silent and their pitching staff unraveled. And it came at the worst possible times.
This offseason, they may not have a lot of depth departing, but they need to keep the important pieces and continue to add, because Albert Pujols, Luke Raley, Matt Beaty, Steven Souza Jr., Zach Reks, Billy McKinney, Yoshi Tsutsugo, and Sheldon Neuse just better not happen again.
1. Don’t Out-Smart Yourself in Free Agency
And what did they do with the money that came off the books from all the aforementioned depth pieces? They spent $103 million on a pitcher you will never see again!
To make matters worse, they got into a bidding war with the Mets over Trevor Bauer, who then announced his decisions like a tween taking the stage for a middle school talent show. Absolutely embarrassing.
Bauer, prior to his Cy Young season in the shortened 2020, was a perennial 4.00 ERA pitcher. He had well-documented character issues, stemming from his online behavior, on-field antics (remember he threw the ball over the center field wall in Kansas City after he was removed from a start?), and weird off-field stuff (cut his hand on a drone during the 2016 World Series which undoubtedly hurt the Indians’ chances of taking down the Cubs).
But the Dodgers turned a blind eye. They liked the increased spin rate and unchecked cockiness that saw Bauer rise during baseball’s most trying season in decades. They figured they could pay a premium price for two or three of his prime years and then be done with the commitment. And all they got was 17 starts before sexual assault allegations sidelined him for the remainder of the season in late June. Now, his $45 million salary for the 2022 season is dark cloud hanging over the front office’s head.
Moral of the story? Spend more shrewdly. This was very much not a Dodgers-esque acquisition. Just look at their history of doling out big money contracts. They’re few and far between, and they’re calculated. Their move to sign Bauer felt like a desperate attempt to build a modern day super team when it was totally unnecessary. They could’ve kept Alex Wood and signed someone like Robbie Ray or Anthony DeSclafani for a fraction of the price and gotten better production. Those are usually the kind of moves they make.
Let’s get back to that, then. Blockbuster moves are cool, but they have to be the right ones. Mookie Betts was just that. Bauer was a sad attempt to follow that up and it wasn’t even necessary because of the deep rotation that had already existed (before it all came crashing down).
