Dodgers: Previewing the four most important series' of the first half

Dodgers: Previewing the four most important series’ of the first half

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 19: The Los Angeles Dodgers pose after defeating the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in game five of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 19, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Dodgers advance to the 2017 World Series. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 19: Enrique Hernandez (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) – Dodgers /

As they look to embark on the road back to the World Series in 2018, the Dodgers will face the best ball clubs in baseball, including match-ups with every AL West Team.

Winter is in full swing. Free agents are being signed on an almost daily basis. The Dodgers have lost pieces in their bullpen, and they have filled the space left open by those departures. They have freed up $26.5 million on their payroll (that number may grow, should the Dodgers trade Matt Kemp) and they have added former Cub, Mark Prior, as their bullpen coach.

If the season were to begin today, the Dodgers would already be cemented as legitimate threats to win the pennant, and return to the World Series.

The season doesn’t begin today, though, and the Dodgers still have work to do. They may attempt to re-sign Yu Darvish, especially given his great interest to return to Los Angeles, and they may very well trade Kemp or Yasmani Grandal.

The closer the calendar gets to March 29th, more and more fans will begin to prepare for each series. There will be games between rivals and series’ that bring back memories of the 2017 postseason.

Here are the most important matchups of the upcoming season’s first half.

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