Wednesday, November 11

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Anticipation for the Dodgers' run at a three-peat began almost as soon as they successfully defended their title in 2025. But after nearly a year of build-up, the bid for history came to an abrupt and quiet end when they were swept out of the NL Championship Series by the eventual World Series champion Brewers.

There are always ebbs and flows to baseball, and sometimes going all the way comes down to timing. In the postseason, teams that catch fire at the right time can ride that momentum to greatness. But it can be difficult for teams that hit a cold spell to turn things around in time to save their season.

Thus was the case for the Dodgers, although the offensive struggles that were prominent in their postseason exit came about well before October. While they ranked fourth in the Majors with 801 runs scored overall in 2026, they went through an extended slump in July and August -- a span in which their 209 runs scored were the sixth-fewest.

The offensive inconsistency, both in the regular season and the postseason, gives the Dodgers a lot to dig into this offseason.

"It's a little bit of a game of Whack-A-Mole, where it can be one thing for some period of time, and then it's something else, and then it's something else," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "Sometimes it's noise, and sometimes it's real. And what's important for us is to be able to sift out the noise and isolate what's real and what things we can improve upon."

Here are three ways the Dodgers can address their offense this offseason and in 2027:

Be proactive with Ohtani's health

Shohei Ohtani is one of nine players in the Dodgers' starting lineup, and it would be unfair to pin team-wide offensive issues on him. But the fact of the matter is that when injuries compromised L.A.'s best hitter, the rest of the team scuffled, too.

Ohtani's ongoing left knee and right biceps injuries became public knowledge by early July, but his production as a hitter did not drop off steeply until August, the only calendar month in which the Dodgers had a losing record (13-14). After a September IL stint, Ohtani was not much of a factor in the postseason either, breaking out too late in NLCS Game 4.

There is no guarantee that managing Ohtani differently -- by giving him more days off or placing him on the IL when he initially sustained his injuries -- would have led to a better outcome for the Dodgers. But not having him at his best for their most important games of the year was a problem. This offseason, they will have to explore their options for getting him to the finish line at close to full strength, which could mean changes to his two-way workload.

Upgrade at second base

The Dodgers got the least offensive production from their second basemen (.676 OPS) by a pretty wide margin. Upgrading up the middle would not solve all their problems, but it would lengthen the lineup.

As things stand, Tommy Edman would project to be the Dodgers' primary second baseman. Edman recorded a .714 OPS in 84 regular-season games, riding some hot and cold stretches. But his value comes in his versatility, and he might be of better use to L.A. in a true superutility role.

On the 40-man roster, the Dodgers have Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim, but neither has established himself as a legitimate everyday big leaguer. In the long term, MLB No. 79 prospect Charles Davalan's work at second base in the Arizona Fall League may prove fruitful. But to bridge the gap between the present day and the arrival of Davalan or other prospects, L.A. may look to the free-agent or trade markets.

Improve on situational hitting

When they're at their best, the Dodgers can slug their way to success. But slug is not everything, and issues with situational hitting defined the end of their season.

In the postseason, the Dodgers hit just 5-for-43 with runners in scoring position. They were much better in such situations (.779 OPS) in the regular season, but the issues with situational hitting were still there, as their OPS with the bases loaded was .710 (22nd in the Majors) and they grounded into the third-most double plays overall (128).

The Dodgers will have a new voice on their staff after hiring Pedro Guerrero as a hitting coach and parting ways with Aaron Bates. General manager Brandon Gomes described Guerrero as "approach-focused" when speaking to reporters at the GM Meetings, which could potentially help with this aspect of the team's offense.

The Dodgers picked up some infield depth by claiming Christian Cairo off waivers from the Mets on Monday. Cairo, 25, spent the bulk of last season with the Phillies’ Triple-A Lehigh Valley, slashing .230/.381/.300 while playing shortstop, third base, second base, left field and center field.

Cairo has not appeared in the Majors. His days on the Dodgers' 40-man roster could be numbered, as they have only two open spots remaining ahead of next Tuesday's Deadline to add Rule 5-eligible players. L.A. has at least three strong candidates to protect: No. 5 prospect Christian Zazueta (No. 33 in MLB, per MLB Pipeline), No. 14 prospect Adam Serwinowski and No. 17 prospect Jackson Ferris.

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