How good are the Dodgers with Giancarlo Stanton? (Simulation)

Giancarlo Stanton has been the most talked about target for the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason. If LA were to acquire Stanton, how good would they really be?

2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton finally pieced together an entire season. Throughout his career, Stanton has been on the receiving end of unlucky injuries. However, in 2017, Stanton pieced together a full effort in route to 59 home runs. Now, with new ownership led by Derek Jeter, Stanton is rumored to be on his way out — enter the Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been thrown into the Stanton sweepstakes this offseason. Although LA is arguably the deepest team in the league, they are missing one more thing; a true power-hitting right-handed bat.

Justin Turner is great and Chris Taylor can slug home runs at leadoff. Both slugged 21 home runs last season. That is great and all but LA is missing that 30+ home run power from the right side of the plate.

That is why Stanton has become the perfect fit. Although he will cost a lot of salary cap and prospects, the Dodgers have what it takes to get it done. LA is freeing up a load of money in Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford (among other retained salaries). With a deep farm, the front office can pluck from there as well.

These talks have accelerated as Stanton reportedly gave the Marlins a list of teams he would accept a trade from. Atop the list? The Los Angeles Dodgers.

Naturally, we wanted to see exactly how good the Dodgers would be with a 59 home run slugger in the middle of the order. Thus, we hopped on MLB The Show 17, initiated a trade a simulated a season.

The trade:

There is a multitude of trade offers the Dodgers can send the Marlins, with the most likely option including a big league talent. However, we wanted to see exactly how good this roster can be without losing anyone. Therefore, we sent the Marlins a package that included three top ten prospects in the Dodgers system

Verdugo, Alvarez and Ruiz rank 23, 45 and 100 on MLB Pipeline, respectively. The Marlins may try and be more stingy. However, this is a fair return if Los Angeles is eating Stanton’s contract.

The lineup:

First, before getting to the lineup, we had to make an assumption. The Dodgers have a gap to fill in the starting rotation. While he could have added the likes of Jake Arrieta to the rotation, we kept Yu Darvish. There is a chance Darvish gets resigned his talent is likely on par with what the Dodgers will acquire.

As for the batting order, it was absolutely stacked. We set up platoons at multiple positions to maximize the efforts. Also, with Chase Utley and Andre Ethier heading to free agency we called up Andrew Toles and Charlie Culberson to fill the void.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Against RHP:

1. Chris Taylor — 2B
2. Corey Seager — SS
3. Giancarlo Stanton — LF
4. Cody Bellinger — 1B
5. Justin Turner — 3B
6. Yasiel Puig — RF
7. Joc Pederson — CF
8. Yasmani Grandal — C
9. Pitcher

Against LHP:

1. Chris Taylor — CF
2. Justin Turner — 3B
3. Giancarlo Stanton — LF
4. Cody Bellinger — 1B
5. Corey Seager — SS
6. Logan Forsythe — 2B
7. Yasiel Puig — RF
8. Austin Barnes — C
9. Pitcher

Enrique Hernandez, Charlie Culberson, Andrew Toles and Adrian Gonzalez were the players on the bench that were not included in any platoons. Although they weren’t starters, all three guys had notable playing time.

The results:

Well, the results were exactly what you would expect them to be. First, we will start with the individual performances.

Stanton won his second consecutive NL MVP behind a very solid season in Los Angeles. The pitcher-friendly confines of Chavez Ravine did not slow Stanton down at all. In fact, hitting around other great bats only boosted his production. On the season, Stanton slugged 55 home runs, drove in 134 RBIs all while batting .323.

The Dodgers had other notables as well. Turner hit .322 with 36 home runs and 98 RBIs, giving the Dodgers two right-handed 30+ home run hitters. Seager hit .303 with 35 home runs and 100 RBIs. Bellinger slugged 35 home runs, drove in 105 RBIs with a .279 batting average. Puig slugged 21 home runs, Pederson slugged 25 and Taylor slugged 25 with a disappointing .247 average.

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Stanton, Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Pederson, Kershaw, Wood and Kenley Jansen all were selected to the All-Star Game.

Overall, this team flirted with the all-time wins total. Los Angeles went 113-49, nine games better than they did in 2017. This was enough for a 13 game lead over the 100-win — surprisingly — San Fransisco Giants.

The Dodgers went on to face the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS, where they defeated them in five games. Although the offense struggled, Yasiel Puig carried the team with a .389 batting average.

In the NLCS the Dodgers squared off against the Washington Nationals. After falling behind three games to zero, LA somehow managed to come back and win in seven games. Stanton slugged three home runs in the NLCS while Seager, Turner and Bellinger all slugged two.

In the World Series, the Boys in Blue faced the New York Yankees, who won 107 games. However, the Dodgers handled the Yankees in five games behind two dominant starts from Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw won the World Series MVP.

Next: How the Dodgers can become World Series favorites

Although Stanton did not have a huge impact in the postseason on the video game, he did turn Los Angeles into a historically good team. With the current squad in LA, adding Giancarlo Stanton very well could make them the best team in the history of the MLB.