They did win 111 games last season.
There’s been a lot of talk this offseason about a “shift” in the National League West. People think that the division that has been dominated by the Dodgers over the last decade may have a new best team — the one that beat them in last year’s NLDS.
The San Diego Padres have proven to be all-in over the last few seasons, and this offseason, with the addition of Xander Bogaerts and the upcoming return of Fernando Tatis Jr., people are already crowning them NL West champions. However, I think people are forgetting that the Padres finished an impressive 22 games out of first place last season to none other than the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman definitely didn’t forget.
“The division is still ours until we lose the division,” Freeman said at an event a part of the Dodgers community tour. “Our team is very, very good.”
Yes, the Dodgers may have lost some key pieces such as Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner, but they’ve also reloaded. And Freeman knows LA’s roster is as good as anyone’s in all of baseball.
“When you have Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and then you can roll off our pitching,” Freeman said, “I think we still have a really good team.”
It’s hard to argue with that.
So while the NL West may not be the cruise it was for the Dodgers last season, I still think you’d have to be pretty foolish to count them out before the season even starts. But then again, maybe that’s just the added motivation they need.
