The Dodgers have been the focal point of the offseason over the last week, beginning with the acquisition of Shohei Ohtani. Unfortunately, for the rest of the league, that was just the beginning.
Last night, Los Angeles acquired Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot from the Tampa Bay Rays for a couple of pitching prospects.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a trade to send RHP Tyler Glasnow and OF Manuel Margot to the Dodgers for RHP Ryan Pepiot and OF Jonny Deluca — contingent on Glasnow signing an extension with L.A., which is expected, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2023
The Dodgers are also still rumored to be in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who could make his decision any day now. If Los Angeles can land their second Japanese superstar of the offseason, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in 2024. But as of right now, how do they stack up with the Braves, who won 104 games last year, most in MLB, and are returning essentially their entire roster with a few upgrades?
Even after the acquisition of Glasnow and Ohtani, FanGraphs still projects the Braves to have the best record in baseball, and it’s not particularly close.
FanGraphs top ten projected teams for 2024 after the Glasnow trade:
1. Braves 97.4 wins
2. Astros 90.6
3. Dodgers 90.3
4. Yankees 88.8
5. Rays 87.3
6. Blue Jays 86.3
7. Phillies 85.7
8. Cardinals 85.2
9. Twins 84.9
10. Orioles 83.8— Austin Cain-Reach (@reach_baseball) December 15, 2023
The top of the Dodgers lineup looks like an All-Star team, much like the Braves, but the bottom still leaves a little to be desired as of now. Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers make some more moves to make their offense even more potent before the season, but the real issue with them right now is their pitching staff.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto would ease a lot of those concerns, but even still, Walker Buehler is coming off Tommy John surgery. Who knows how he is going to look when he gets back, and as fantastic as Glasnow is when he is healthy, he’s made more than 20 starts once in his eight-year MLB career. The rest of the current Los Angeles rotation is littered with inexperience.
I expect the Dodgers to continue bolstering this roster because it needs it, and nobody can go all-in like the Dodgers, especially when the best player in the game is willing to play at a discount in order to help the team. The Braves roster, on the other hand, didn’t need much tweaking coming into the offseason. They had very few holes and have already upgraded most of them.
Perhaps the Braves add another starting pitcher before the start of the season. It’s the one remaining area that could be patched up, but Alex Anthopoulos will not be reactionary because of what’s happening around the league. He knows he already has a roster ready to compete for a World Series as currently constructed.
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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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