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It wouldn’t have taken much for the Dodgers to retain their place as the bona fide best team in the National League West. After all, they’d won more than 100 games in each of the last three full seasons and four of the last five. Their roster was built to succeed right now and for a long damn time. So what if they lost a few key pieces? Their farm system and immense payroll would keep them at the top of the division, especially considering only one team — the Padres — was an immediate threat.
Well, the Padres are no longer just a threat, they are serious contenders, with arguably a better lineup. Sure, the Dodgers still hold the edge in their rotation, but Los Angeles hasn’t faced such a menacing lineup in several, several years. Bogaerts, Soto, Machado, Tatís, Jake Cronenworth, Trent Grisham. That’s the stuff of nightmares. How do the Dodgers counter? Mookie Betts (pictured), Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman are great. Then, who? 35-year-old J.D. Martinez (pictured)? Miguel Rojas? Two men who just had the worst seasons of their careers in Chris Taylor and Max Muncy? I don’t love it.
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