If you're gonna have one of the most humiliating losses in franchise history, it had better be at the hands of a good team. And the 2024 Dodgers, let it not be forgotten, were a very, very good team. One of the most terrifying hearts of an order in recent memory, a great bullpen, a rotation that somehow stuck itself together by September, and some of the most dramatic hero moments you could ask for. Freddie Freeman walking off in Game 1 is all you could have asked for. He's already a Hall of Famer, he's already a Dodgers hero, he's already a World Series winner, and he's already one of the most beloved MLB figures still active, but this was another big piece for the wall at home. I had to make another custom of him for this year, to commemorate his dominant World Series performance, even after so many setbacks. You cannot help but respect that.
Here's how strong the 2024 Dodgers' bullpen was: it was able to withstand the primary closing option hitting a wall and getting injured. Evan Phillips went into this year as RP1, saved 18 games, yet struggled mightily compared to his prior progress. His 3.62 ERA and -0.6 WAR indicate a season derailed by a May injury that he couldn't completely come back from. His ERA was 0.66 before the injury, and then the earned runs kept piling up throughout year, despite a rebound in August. Phillips, for the first time since taking the ninth, had a human year, hence his middle relief role in the playoffs.
2025 Prediction: Eventually becomes a more reliable closer again, but it doesn't happen overnight.
Blake Treinen, meanwhile, made a triumphant return to the Dodgers' pen after missing essentially two straight seasons. He was stellar in both 2020 and 2021, but that did its damage and made it so he couldn't return til this year. Unsurprisingly, Treinen's 2024 was pretty solid, as in 50 games he had a 1.93 ERA, a 7-3 record and 56 Ks. During the postseason he went 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 8 Ks in 9 appearances, saving three games. Nobody had really thought of Treinen as a particularly great closer since 2018, but this was the kind of stuff LA could rest their season on, and he delivered.
2025 Prediction: Something comparatively underwhelming. But it'll be for the Dodgers so he'll get somewhere with it.
The transitional closer in between Evan Phillips and the deadline was longtime relief specialist Daniel Hudson, who'd outlasted his 2010-era battery-mate in Arizona, Ian Kennedy, in the majors. Hudson held a 3 ERA over 65 games, went 6-2 with 63 Ks, and saved 10 games. For a 37-year-old rounding what would be the last curve of his MLB career, that's excellent. His postseason was a little rockier, he had a 7.50 ERA in 7 appearances, but he got to finish his career with a winner, which is all every pitcher wants.
There were two fairly big rookie prospects that got a shot for the Dodgers this season. Andy Pages got the call as an OF piece after James Outman underperformed. Pages has been a long-heralded prospect for the Dodgers, and while he did hit .248 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs, his defense left a lot to be desired. Also underwhelming were his playoff stats, as he went 4-for-19 with 4 RBIs and 2 homers. He's 23, he's still young, it's not too worrying, but the book on him seems a tad inflated at the moment.
2025 Prediction: Something clicks in a way that it couldn't with Outman this year.
Additionally, River Ryan was one of many Dodgers starting prospects to be thrust into the MLB rotation this year. Though he was expected to bubble in triple-A this year, he got the call in late July and pitched 4 pretty strong major league games, with a 1.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts. His control, and his dominance, were almost unlike other pitchers his age, even in that same system. Inevitably, 4 games into his season he had some throwing issues, and would be out for the rest of the season, and probably 2025's, rehabbing from Tommy John. But the Dodgers still have high hopes for Ryan; they wouldn't have cut James Paxton to bring him up if they didn't.
2025 Prediction: No MLB action probably, but given who the team's getting back next year, it won't wound them tremendously.
The Dodgers had an extremely wise trade deadline, as two of their big moves, Tommy Edman and Jack Flaherty, were crucial in getting them that ring. They also swung Kevin Kiermaier for outfield depth, and while it became clear how far from his prime Kiermaier was, he still got to win his first World Series ring with this team. In 34 games he hit .203 with 12 hits and 8 RBIs. He only made 2 plate appearances during the playoffs, and neither were noteworthy.
2025 Prediction: Has something of a comeback year split between two teams.
And hidden beneath the Tommy Edman acquisition was the arrival of Michael Kopech, who set the league ablaze in 2018 before injuries limited him going forward. Kopech was mainly a bullpen guy for the White Sox so far this year, and not a particularly successful one. In 24 games with the Dodgers, Kopech became the team's secret weapon, and pushed into a gear not thought reachable. Kopech went 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 29 Ks and 6 saves down the stretch. Then, during the postseason, he had a 3 ERA in 10 games, with 10 strikeouts and a win. Again, that three-team trade with the Sox and Cardinals was perfect for the Dodgers, because they got two guys they couldn't have won this Series without.
2025 Prediction: I don't wanna be crass and say 'immediately gets hurt again', but that is his track record.
Coming Tomorrow- A lot of key members from an impressive but outshined Giants team.
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