NL West Preview: Everyone is still chasing the Dodgers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Dave Roberts spent much of spring training thinking about how to manage the health of his two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers so they can play for the long haul once again. That's what happens when a club competes deep into October year after year. Now, the Dodgers will try to become only the second team in more than 50 years to three-peat after the New York Yankees did so from 1998-2000.
After another shortened offseason, one of the biggest things facing NL West powerhouse Los Angeles was making sure to manage all its stars before the season even began. Especially with Japanese standouts Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto , World Series MVP, playing in the World Baseball Classic. “It’s up to all of us to be mindful of workloads, short-term, long-term, and all that stuff, which we are,” Roberts said.
“As a player you just want to encourage guys to be prepared and go compete your tail off. ” All the attention again will be on the big-spending Dodgers and whether anybody can slow them down from capturing another division crown — and the other teams certainly realize the daunting task of doing so. New Giants manager Tony Vitello acknowledges he will have to learn about the talented division in a hurry.
“I know there’s a lot of money invested in the division, it’s very competitive,” Vitello said. How they project 1. Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers led the majors in payroll last season at a whopping $509 million entering the playoffs — then they added one of the top free agents in outfielder Kyle Tucker. Ohtani and Los Angeles finished 93-69 and the club has won 12 of the last 13 NL West titles — only finishing second to the Giants by one game with 106 victories in 2021. The Dodgers brought in Tucker on a $240 million, four-year contract to an already star-studded lineup.
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