Dodgers facing 1 huge question before Opening Day

The defending champion Dodgers are well primed to repeat yet again. Shohei Ohtani is the best player in MLB and is quickly becoming an all-time great.

It was Yoshinobu Yamamoto who won the World Series MVP, though. Will Smith is one of the best catchers in baseball, and an elite rotation includes Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Roki Sasaki. Tanner Scott is even a premier reliever, and, of course, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts always show up when it counts.

Last year, the Dodgers were top five in home runs (244), walks (580), and on-base percentage (.327). The team’s pitching was just as elite, as its team ERA (2.85) and WHIP (1.11) were top two marks across the league. Los Angeles just doesn’t have any clear-cut weaknesses.

The Dodgers only got better this offseason, too. Kyle Tucker, arguably the best free agent available, was signed to man right field. Edwin Diaz was signed as well, and he was the best reliever on the open market. The Dodgers even have lots of talent in a deep farm system.

What is the Dodgers’ biggest question mark?

The Dodgers are well-primed to continue their winning ways in 2026 and well beyond. Only four teams have ever three-peated in MLB history, though, and it hasn’t happened since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees. History would prove that the Dodgers aren’t invincible.

If the team has anything to be worried about, it would be Father Time. The Dodgers had the oldest group of hitters last year, with an average age of 30.7 years. To add to that, a source of inspiration for the team, Clayton Kershaw, just retired. In baseball, with age comes regression. While Betts and Freeman have been stepping up in the postseason in recent years, their season-long numbers have also been regressing.

Eventually, that duo will no longer be viewed as elite. A slight reduction in production won’t be enough for the Dodgers to fall out of relevance, but it could be just enough for another team to sneak in and surpass them as the World Series champions. After all, the Toronto Blue Jays took them to seven games in the Fall Classic in 2025.

In addition to regression being a symptom of aging, injuries also become more prevalent as players get older. Injuries have actually been the Dodgers’ biggest issue in recent years. Their pitching staff was decimated for much of last season. While the team has depth, overcoming injuries is never easy to do.

In all likelihood, nobody will be able to compete with the Dodgers roster, and they will probably just keep spending to ensure that remains the case. The core as a whole won’t need a reset for a couple of seasons, but it is possible that the Dodgers are just a really good dynasty and not on the path to become the best team in MLB history, which certainly seems to be their ambition.