4 front office mistakes that have crushed Dodgers playoff hopes last two seasons

Letting Corey Seager (and Trea Turner go)

Want to let Corey Seager go? Fine. Something told the Dodgers he probably wasn't going to return, so they went out and got insurance in the form of Trea Turner. Great! There's your successor.

Except ... that didn't happen either. Turner, in fact, said the Dodgers didn't even reach out to him in free agency. But perhaps it should've never reached that point. Seager was the Dodgers' guy ever since he made his way up through the farm system. He was the 2020 hero that won them the World Series.

Seager's postseason track record certainly isn't flawless. He got injured during the 2017 NLCS and then stunk in the World Series. He disappeared in 2019. He went 4-for-24 in the NLCS against the Braves in 2021 when the team needed him most. Injuries affected him almost annually in LA.

But he was someone who could've lasted his career in LA on a long-term contract because his bat will always play. He's a lefty slugger that hits for average and power. If he had to move to third base eventually, so be it. If he had to become a full-time DH in six years, who cares. He helped get you to three World Series and was hitting free agency as a 27-year-old, something that rarely happens.

The cherry on top was the Dodgers silently letting Trea Turner walk to another contender -- the Phillies, who are on track for their second straight World Series berth. Seager has the Rangers up 2-0 in the ALCS against the Astros. Even the most shrewd front offices know that you cannot let two elite shortstops come and go like that.

This is obviously magnified because of Gavin Lux's injury, but even then, nothing about Lux's play proved he was going to come close to the production of either of these players. Seager was the star and culture fit while Turner was the fancy backup plan.

The Dodgers blew it with both of them. Unacceptable.