The Los Angeles Dodgers roster underwent significant turnover during the offseason as Hanser Alberto, Tyler Anderson, Cody Bellinger, Joey Gallo, Andrew Heaney, Tommy Kahnle, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Martin, Kevin Pillar, Justin Turner and Trea Turner all signed with different teams in free agency.
Of the group, Bellinger and the two Turners arguably had the biggest impact on the Dodgers in recent seasons. However, L.A. was comfortable with moving on from them partly due to the next wave of prospects ready to make an impact at the Major League level.
Miguel Vargas, Michael Busch, James Outman, Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Gavin Stone are among the young players expected to contribute for the Dodgers this season.
Manager Dave Roberts believes that type of infusion in the Dodgers clubhouse will provide a different feel that could be needed, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com
“I love the youthful enthusiasm,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Because sometimes, when you’re around something for so long, you get a little jaded and that’s human nature. But I think just to have some young guys that are just wide-eyed again, it’s just like ‘You know what, man? It is fun.’ … So I think that’s going to filter throughout the clubhouse.”
The Dodgers still have an excellent core of veterans in place to help the younger players make a seamless transition to the big leagues.
In addition to the aforementioned prospects with limited MLB experience, the Dodgers roster is flush with other young players who have been around for a few seasons, such as Dustin May and Gavin Lux. Both are expected to take on bigger roles this year.
PECOTA projects Dodgers to win NL West
Despite their notable losses in free agency, the 2023 PECOTA projections from Baseball Prospectus have the Dodgers winning National League West by going 97-65 and score the most runs in baseball this season.
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