If the excitement of Opening Day is hindered by the feeling of lost opportunity in the futures market, fear not: there’s still time to attack some of the remaining values in the MLB win totals mark…
For years, you could just about set your clock to the Dodgers winning 100 games, which is surely factored into this year’s preseason price. But there are legitimate reasons for concern with this group.
For one, Los Angeles lost over 20 WAR in free agency – the most in the majors – and did very little to recoup from the losses of Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger on offense or Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney on the mound. That doesn’t count the loss of Walker Buehler, who underwent his second Tommy John surgery in August and likely won’t pitch in 2023.
Without him, the Dodgers’ rotation is solid but hardly overpowering, and their lineup has more holes this year than we’ve seen in years. This team has as much upside as any in the NL, but the floor is also lower than this win total suggests.If the Dodgers fall short of preseason expectations, those wins have to go somewhere. And I’m betting on their I-5 rivals to make a big leap in the standings this year.
I’m hardly the only one with sky-high expectations for the Padres, who added star shortstop Xander Bogaerts – who’s garnered MVP votes in each of the last five seasons – to a lineup that already features Juan Soto, Manny Machado and nearly a full season of Fernando Tatis Jr. Once Joe Musgrove returns from what seems like a minor injury, the Friars’ rotation will be kicking into high gear, too, and potentially stand toe-to-toe with their division rivals. This team won 89 games last season and are well-positioned to exceed that mark in 2023.
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