5 biggest National League threats to Dodgers' chances of reaching World Series

Regardless of anyone's opinion on the Los Angeles Dodgers, they are widely considered the objective winners of the offseason. Landing Shohei Ohtani alone would likely have warranted that title, so when you throw in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Teoscar Hernández, it’s really hard to contest that title. 

By no means does this guarantee anything for the Dodgers. They consistently have high expectations and, outside of the 2020 World Series they won, have repeatedly fallen short despite having one of the most talented rosters every year. But expectations for this season are higher than they have ever been. If the Dodgers don’t win the World Series, the baseball world will dub it a failed season. The Dodgers will have to first make it out of the National League before setting their eyes on the World Series, which is a difficult task by itself. 

What 5 teams pose the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the NL?

5. San Diego Padres

The National League is very top-heavy, with the Dodgers and a couple of other teams that will be mentioned later. The San Diego Padres are coming off a year where they were one of the most disappointing teams in MLB. Instead of fighting for an NL West title, they were fighting to stay above .500.

It may come as a shock to some when they see the Padres on this list. That’s fair; they did lose Juan Soto, Josh Hader, and Blake Snell, but this roster is still very talented, and they didn’t lose Soto for nothing. They were able to get pitching prospects to help their future, as well as Michael King to bolster their current rotation. 

The first four batters in the Padres lineup are projected to be Ha-Seong Kim, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado. That’s a scary bunch to face, regardless of who comes after them. With King joining Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish, their rotation is also still nothing to scoff at.

The Dodgers went 9-4 against the Padres last season, but these teams don’t like each other, which gives the Padres that extra edge and makes their matchups always fun to watch. Don't count San Diego out just yet. Their chemistry might even be improved year-over-year.

4. St. Louis Cardinals

The Padres were one of the most disappointing teams last year, but the St. Louis Cardinals may have been the biggest letdown of the 2023 season. Surely the Cardinals have to rebound after that awful season, right? Right?!

Like the Padres, the Cardinals have high-end talent in their lineup with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. But their lineup gets the edge over the Padres because it’s more reliable from top to bottom with guys like Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. Jordan Walker will also be looking to take a leap after an impressive campaign (offensively, at least) last season. 

As for their rotation, they added Sonny Gray, who finished second in AL Cy Young voting last season, as well as Kyle Gibson and former (slimmed down) Dodger Lance Lynn. Their rotation has improved from 2023, and with a lineup that solid, it’s just too difficult to imagine a second bad year in a row for the Cardinals.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

Like the previous two teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks were also a shocking team last season. Unlike the other two teams, though, they were surprising in a good way.

Unlike the Dodgers, making the World Series is enough for their season to have registered as a massive success. They deserve their flowers after their postseason run, which was admittedly very fun to watch. Now they look to build off that success in 2024.

The Diamondbacks haven’t gone through any major changes for the worse since last season. No star player left in free agency or got traded, and they shored up their depth in the wake of losing Evan Longoria and Tommy Pham, acquiring Eugenio Suarez, who is a well-rounded third baseman, as well as Randal Grichuk. They also retained Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and, perhaps most importantly, they acquired starting pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez.

Rodríguez is a nice pickup for the Diamondbacks. He rounds out their rotation as he joins Zac Gallen, Merill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt. More importantly, this adds another element to the division rivalry. Rodríguez decided not to waive his no trade clause to join the Dodgers back at the trade deadline when the Detroit Tigers were looking to deal the 30-year-old. This rubbed Dodgers fans the wrong way, and now that he is in Arizona, fans can’t wait to go up against him. 

If the Diamondbacks were able to be NL Champions last year, they definitely have what it takes to bring down the Dodgers for what would be a second year in a row.

1. Atlanta Braves

Last up are the Atlanta Braves, who, like the Phillies, are simply one of the best teams in the league. In their case, they might just be the best team in baseball, but the Dodgers likely have something to say about that.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is coming off an MVP season, and with Ohtani only being a DH this year, the Braves' centerpiece is the most valuable player in all of baseball. If Ohtani decides to become a two-way player again, he will easily take that title right back, but the list goes on for the Braves. Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Michael Harris, Sean Murphy, and Marcell Ozuna—their lineup is unbelievably talented. 

Their rotation isn’t on the same level as their lineup, but that's just because those are high standards to live up to. Spencer Strider has just two seasons in the big leagues, but has already cemented himself as one of the best pitchers. Then you have Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Bryce Elder, and the newly added Chris Sale. If Sale stays healthy, he will prove to be extremely valuable and bring back some scary memories for Dodgers fans. 

The Braves bullpen rivals the Phillies for being the best in baseball. They are such a well-rounded team and will prove to be the biggest roadblock for the Dodgers this season, possibly in either league.