Whether the cause was a futile attempt at resetting their consecutive-years luxury tax penalty or an effort to save up in order to sign Shohei Ohtani next offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a weirdly quiet winter. And the juggernaut’s absence from the hot stove headlines has put them in perhaps their most vulnerable position since they last missed the playoffs in 2012.
Los Angeles Dodgers
2022 record: 111-51 (1st in NL West; lost in NLDS)
2023 FanGraphs projection: 86-76 (2nd in NL West)
The Blue Crew’s performance in past decade has set a high bar for success — over their last 10 seasons, they’ve failed to finish atop the NL West just once, in 2021, and they still managed 106 wins that year.