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Los Angeles Dodgers: Offseason takes that are completely wrong

By Jason Reed

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 20: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks in the dugout after being relieved against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 20: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks in the dugout after being relieved against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers /

3. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a much better team than they were in 2018

I have also seen the optimistic side of the fanbase campaigning that the Los Angeles Dodgers are a much better team heading into the 2019 season than they were exiting the 2018 season. While my following argument is going to sound a bit redundant, just follow along with me.

So the Dodgers new acquisitions are A.J. Pollock, Russell Martin and Joe Kelly. The team also re-signed David Freese, kept Hyun-Jin Ryu with the qualifying offer and is getting a healthy Corey Seager and Alex Verdugo.

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Let’s run through the replacements with who left. I think Seager is a better player than Machado but when you are that elite the margin is fairly small. However, Seager does fit this offense considering Machado has a poor on-base percentage (for his standards) in LA.

Many say that Pollock is undoubtedly an upgrade from Yasiel Puig.  Puig was very poor against southpaws last season but Pollock was not great either, hitting in the .220s. He helps the team being a traditional center fielder but is marginally better defensively at best and does not have as good of an arm.

Plus Pollock is constantly hurt. Maybe he can be better than Puig if he plays a full season but that is a major what-if. Pollock and Verdugo might be better than just Puig, but Puig, Verdugo and Pollock would be incredible.

Russell Martin is not as good as Yasmani Grandal and that is just a cold hard fact. He is better defensively though and will be a nice veteran presence, but he is not better than Grandal.

Joe Kelly is an arm that many Dodger fans already love because of his strong showing in the postseason. However, this is still a guy that has a 4.38 ERA over the last four seasons.

The starting rotation is deep but consists of all the same guys as last year. That really is not an upgrade.

Will the Los Angeles Dodgers have a better record in 2019 than 2018? Probably. The Dodgers’ were really unlucky last year and their Pythagorean Win-Loss on Baseball-Reference was 102-61, 10 games better than they finished.

Next. The battle for the fifth rotation spot. dark

The Los Angeles Dodgers played as good as a 100-win team last season. To expect this year’s version of the team to be significantly better than is far-fetched.

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