By many metrics, the Los Angeles Dodgers boasted the best offense among National League teams during the 2018 season. The club paced the NL in FanGraphs’ WAR (33.0) on top of posting highs in home runs (235) and wRC+ (111).
To achieve that level of success, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts relied heavily on platoons for much of the year. The method proved effective until the postseason, when the club struggled to score runs against some of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman defended platooning and believes the strategy is vital in order to maximize offensive production but also stressed it’s not an approach the franchise is married to.