3 Dodgers who will benefit most from Universal DH

The one good thing to come out of the lockout thus far is the near-guarantee that MLB will have a Universal DH starting in 2022. Goodbye to pitchers hitting! If you thoroughly enjoyed that, well, we guess we’re sorry? Not really, though, because it was one of the most underwhelming aspects of the game we’ve been forced to watch for an extremely long time.

The Universal DH will help the game with more offensive production, and it’ll make the Los Angeles Dodgers even stronger. Fans have long wondered how much better the Dodgers teams of the last decade would’ve been if they could have slotted a DH into their stacked lineup.

Now, LA can start realistically planning for that after getting a taste in 2020, and we saw how well that went for them. It’s even more valuable heading into 2022 with a number of aging players on the roster approaching expiring contracts. This could be the one final run for this remaining Dodgers core before it’s possibly stripped down to nothing.

Whenever the lockout ends, expect the Dodgers to acquire one more impact bat regardless of position because manager Dave Roberts will have the luxury of shuffling a number of guys in and out of the DH spot … and a few veterans will benefit the most.

The Universal DH will help these three Dodgers succeed even more in 2022.

3. Max Muncy

If the Dodgers sign Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy will likely see a good amount in the DH spot, but even if that doesn’t happen, it’ll be a help for Muncy to get off his feet coming off a partially torn UCL as he enters his age-31 season.

The lefty slugger was unquestionably the Dodgers’ offensive MVP throughout the 2021 season and we saw what happened to the lineup when he was lost for the playoffs after suffering the elbow injury in Game 162.

It’s unclear how far along he is in his recovery or if his 2022 season will be delayed as a result, but if Roberts can avoid using Muncy in the infield as much as possible at the onset to take pressure off his arm, then that’ll be a huge win. Muncy is far too valuable to the Dodgers’ success to not be preserved in every way possible.

And with a team option on the way for the 2023 campaign and his future somewhat in question, a top-notch showing in 2022 would help all parties involved.

2. AJ Pollock

Our next two selections are fairly obvious, but that won’t keep us from going more in depth. Pollock, who arrived in LA prior to the 2019 season, has only one “full” year under his belt and it came in 2020 when he appeared in 55 of 60 possible games. In 2019 and 2021, he missed a total of 121 games and it was especially a problem in 2021 with the lack of outfield depth on the Dodgers’ roster.

Various ailments have doomed Pollock to give him the annoying “injury prone” label, but it’s sadly true. Since debuting in 2013, he’s appeared in 137 games or more in a single season just twice. His shortened years have featured 12, 55, 75, 86, 112, 113 and 117 games played. Just simply not enough for a guy who is guaranteed $18 million next season (that includes his $5 million buyout on his $10 million player option for 2023).

What really is a bummer is the fact that Pollock has been highly valuable to this Dodgers team when he’s been fully healthy. Here are his cumulative stats in the regular season since joining the team:

• .282/.337/.519 (125 OPS+) with 132 runs scored, 52 homers, 150 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 258 games

And he came alive in the postseason this past year to hit .273 in the NLDS and .381 with an insane 1.190 OPS in the NLCS. Playoff Pollock activated (we hope)!

Take him off his feet in the outfield and the Dodgers are guaranteed to see a lot less wear and tear as he enters his age-34 campaign … because if he’s playing in ~140 games, then the team will be adding a handful of much-needed victories.