3 moves Dodgers must make to have any chance of winning 2023 World Series

Just about every Los Angeles Dodgers fan was expecting the 2023 season to be a step back. There was no chance that the Dodgers were going to replicate the 111-win season from 2022 with the talent that left the team since November.

That being said, the Dodgers were still expected to comfortably finish with 90-ish wins before the season, but they're not on pact for that thus far. The Dodgers have been a .500 ballclub. This is the most sobering start to a season since 2018.

As Dodgers fans have painfully learned over the last decade, regular-season wins are thrown out the window, and all a team needs to do is get hot in October to make noise. The slow start won't keep the Dodgers from doing this, but the team definitely needs to make some moves in order to be this year's hot October team.

3 moves Dodgers must make to have chance of winning 2023 World Series

3. Actually promote (and give playing time to) the top performers in the minors

This was a problem last season for the Dodgers. James Outman was the hottest hitter in the entire organization towards the end of the season and the Dodgers left him off the playoff roster for Joey Gallo. Remember him?

The hope this year is that the Dodgers have learned from that mistake and will actually give a chance to the best/top performing players in the organization. There is less of an excuse this year since there's less established talent (like Justin Turner or Cody Bellinger) blocking young players from legitimately taking a roster spot or a starting job.

If Michael Busch or Andy Pages are tearing the cover off of the ball in the second half of the season, then they deserve playing time over any struggling veterans like David Peralta or Trayce Thompson. If someone is pitching very well, it's imperative to give them the shot over a struggling arm like Noah Syndergaard. They have the bandwidth to make it happen and wouldn't be displacing any integral talent in the process.

This is not unheard of for the Dodgers, either. The team promoted Corey Seager in August of 2015 and made him the starting shortstop for the playoffs over Jimmy Rollins. They can and should do the same if applicable in 2023.

2. Shore up the bullpen with savvy additions

Any team needs a good bullpen if it wants any chance of going on a run in October. As it stands right now, the Dodgers do not have a good bullpen -- in fact, they have one of the worst in the entire league. Typical standouts, like Alex Vesia, have been awful and it's been an overall group effort worth forgetting through the first month of action.

At the time of this writing, the Dodgers have the fourth-highest bullpen ERA (5.32) in the entire sport. Only the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics are worse. Those are not the kinds of teams you want to be grouped with.

This is so untypical of the Dodgers and it's critical that the team fixes it by making savvy bullpen additions. LA doesn't need to make a massive trade, like the Josh Hader deal from a year ago, but there needs to be some help. Someone like Aroldis Chapman could actually make a lot of sense.

If LA can add 2-3 impact relievers, then most of the problems will be fixed. Dave Roberts can run a four-man playoff rotation and use guys like Gavin Stone, Ryan Pepiot and maybe even Walker Buehler in the bullpen.

But without any external help during the season, the Dodgers might not even be in a position to make the playoffs in the National League.