MLB 2022: 5 reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers will win the World Series this season
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been arguably the most competitive team in the past decade. The team has made the playoffs in nine of the last ten seasons, they are consistently projected to make deep runs into the playoffs, and have sported one of the top three payrolls in baseball year in and year out.
However, with only one World Series title coming in that span, many are skeptical if the team has what it takes to go all the way in the 2022 campaign. Here are five reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers will win the World Series this season.
5. Las Vegas loves the Los Angeles Dodgers
The best displays of confidence are always made with money. Sportsbooks across the country are in unanimous agreement that the Dodgers are the team with the best chance of winning the World Series title this year.
While the analysts and models that predict such performances are not always correct, in the era of lifting prohibition on mobile sports betting in various states, sportstbooks have more analytics and data than ever. And their data points to the Dodgers.
4. The Los Angeles Dodgers have deep pockets
The race for the top opening day payroll, according to official #MLB salaries by clubs on Wednesday:
#Dodgers: $272.8 million
#Mets: $268.7 million
Race for lowest payrolls:
#Pirates: $45.67 million
#Athletics: $45.88 million
#Orioles: $58.4 million
#Guardians: $58.9 million.
Few teams have invested as heavily as the Dodgers. Even when the team signed Trevor Bauer last year to a record-breaking contract, the team was still willing to take on massive salary endeavors. They traded for Max Scherzer and tried to sign shortstop Corey Seager to a massive extension before the start of the 2021 season.
The team continued to invest by bringing in Freddie Freeman on a six-year contract that is set to pay the 2021 World Series champion $162 million. The franchise boasts a massive payroll each season and isn't afraid to spend more to build the best roster each season.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers Management is confident
“I can argue,” Andrew Friedman said, "that the next five years’ outlook is better than what we accomplished over the previous five.”
That’s quite a claim, which begs the question: how long can the Dodgers keep this going? theathletic.com/3231918/2022/0…
Dodgers management has been making bold claims entering the 2022 season. Amidst discussions of signing a contract extension, Manager Dave Roberts guaranteed to fans that the team would go all the way and recapture a World Series title.
Management then doubled-down as architect of the Dodgers, Andrew Friedman, said he expects the team to perform at a higher level over the next five years.
To be internally confident is one thing, but to make such bold claims in an era of Twitter and public shaming, that truly says a lot about the state of the franchise.
2. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the deepest roster in baseball
Most teams are very confident and happy with their starting nine. However, in baseball, a team seldom has the same nine players in all 162 games. It is in these instances where depth is paramount, separating the dreamers from the doers.
The Dodgers have depth in spades, both at the Major League and Minor League level. In the minor leagues, even after depleting their minor league roster through the trades, the Dodgers still sport the 16th best farm system in Major League Baseball, the best the system has been ranked since 2015. Four minor leaguers are ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball, giving the team plenty of ammo to acquire more pieces if they need to during the season.
On the major league roster, the Dodgers boast one of the deepest pitching staffs and bullpens ever assembled. The team acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the White Sox via trade to bolster a bullpen that led the team to 106 wins in the 2021 campaign.
The roster is complimented by the emergence of players such as Max Muncy and Chris Taylor, who bring the versitility necessary for the team to achieve a level of high-caliber production at all nine positons in the lineuo.
1. The Los Angeles Dodgers have more pure talent than any other roster
If you look up the idiom "embarrassment of riches," a picture of the Los Angeles Dodgers would likely top the results. The 2022 Dodgers field a roster that features four MVPs: Clayton Kershaw , Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Freddie Freeman.
Let's not forget reigning NL batting champion Trea Turner, All-Star pitchers Walker Buhler and Craig Kimbrel, and sluggers Justin Turner and Max Muncy. The Dodgers have put together one of the best lineups ever assembled in the history of MLB as stated by ESPN's baseball insider, Jeff Passan.
In nearly 20 years covering baseball, not sure I’ve seen a better lineup than the one the Dodgers will use this season. In some order, it’s going to be Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock.
When it is all said and done, the best players take control of the game when it matters most. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best chance of doing that.