THE DODGERS ARE OLD, SLOW, EXPENSIVE, AND IN TROUBLE. OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYTHING IS FINE!
The Brewers didn't have the Dodgers' money, their collection of MVPs, or their seemingly unlimited financial resources. What they did have was younger legs, energy, athleticism, and players who looked like they genuinely enjoyed playing baseball.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have won three World Series championships since 2020, including back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025. They have spent billions assembling a roster loaded with superstars, future Hall of Famers, and enough talent to make most general managers weep with envy.
And now?
They just got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS.
Not beaten. Not narrowly edged out. SWEPT!
The Brewers didn't have the Dodgers' money, their collection of MVPs, or their seemingly unlimited financial resources. What they did have was younger legs, energy, athleticism, and players who looked like they genuinely enjoyed playing baseball.
The Dodgers had an impressive collection of résumés.
Unfortunately, résumés don't hit fastballs, steal bases, or chase down balls in the gap.
Let's examine the growing list of problems confronting the organization.
1. THE OWNER HAS PROBLEMS BIGGER THAN BASEBALL
Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter has built a financial empire that helped transform the Dodgers into baseball's most formidable spending machine.
Now, that empire is attracting attention from federal investigators.
According to reporting from Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times, federal prosecutors and securities regulators have been investigating financial transactions involving insurance companies connected to Walter and Guggenheim Partners.
The investigations have included questions surrounding billions of dollars in related-party loans, financial disclosures, and transactions involving Walter's business interests.
Let me be clear: Walter has not been charged with a crime, and an investigation is not proof of wrongdoing.
But this is hardly the sort of distraction an organization wants while facing potentially enormous changes in Major League Baseball's economic structure.
What happens if federal scrutiny creates pressure on Walter's businesses? What happens if MLB moves toward a salary cap? What happens if the Dodgers' financial advantage becomes less significant?
The Dodgers have built a championship machine fueled by extraordinary financial resources.
What happens if someone starts turning down the fuel supply?
2. THE DODGERS ARE OLD. REALLY OLD.
Father Time remains undefeated.
Freddie Freeman is 37. Max Muncy is 36. Mookie Betts just turned 34. Shohei Ohtani is 32. Teoscar Hernández is 34.
These are remarkable players, but nobody gets younger.
The 2026 Dodgers had the oldest lineup in baseball, and what we witnessed in October should concern anyone paying attention.
The Milwaukee Brewers looked quicker, more energetic, more aggressive, and more athletic.
The Dodgers looked like a collection of former MVPs waiting for someone else to do something spectacular.
Baseball is changing. Athleticism matters. Defensive range matters. Speed matters. Taking the extra base matters.
The Dodgers increasingly depend on home runs and walks, and when the home runs disappear, so does the offense.
You cannot continue assembling a lineup of 35-year-old stars and expect them to perform like they're 27.
And you certainly cannot expect all of them to age gracefully at the same time.
That's not a strategy.
That's wishful thinking with a $300 million price tag.
3. THE PITCHING STAFF IS A MEDICAL EXPERIMENT
The Dodgers have collected pitchers with extraordinary arms, tremendous talent, and medical histories that would make an orthopedic surgeon wealthy.
Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and other members of the pitching staff have dealt with significant injuries.
The problem isn't that these pitchers lack ability.
The problem is availability.
A pitcher who can throw 98 MPH and dominate for six innings is wonderful.
A pitcher who can only do it intermittently because he spends significant time recovering from injuries is considerably less wonderful.
At some point, Andrew Friedman needs to ask whether the organization's approach to acquiring, developing, and managing pitching talent needs reevaluation.
Are the Dodgers maximizing performance at the expense of durability?
Are they investing too heavily in pitchers with established injury histories?
Is their medical and training operation doing everything possible to protect these enormous investments?
Injuries are part of baseball, and the Dodgers are hardly the only organization dealing with them.
But when the same organizational problem returns year after year, it deserves more than another explanation about bad luck.
The best ability is availability.
And the Dodgers haven't always purchased enough of it.
4. THE OFFENSE HAS BECOME TOO PREDICTABLE
Walk. Strikeout. Home run.
Rinse and repeat.
When the Dodgers are hitting home runs, they're nearly unstoppable.
When they're not, they can become painfully ordinary.
Against elite postseason pitching, an offense needs options.
It needs hitters who can adjust, put the ball in play, move runners, use the opposite field, and manufacture runs without waiting for a 430-foot blast.
The Dodgers too often seem determined to hit a five-run home run with nobody on base.
The great teams can beat you in multiple ways.
The 2026 Dodgers increasingly seemed to have one preferred method.
And the Brewers figured out how to neutralize it.
5. WHERE IS THE SPEED?
Watching the Brewers run the bases compared with watching the Dodgers run the bases was an educational experience.
One team treated 90 feet as an opportunity.
The other occasionally treated it as a considerable inconvenience.
The Dodgers need more players who can steal bases, pressure defenses, take the extra base, and turn singles into doubles through aggressive baserunning.
Speed also translates into defensive range.
The difference between catching a ball in the gap and watching it roll to the wall can decide a postseason game.
Aging stars may retain their hitting ability long after they begin losing mobility.
That's precisely why athleticism must become a greater priority in roster construction.
The Dodgers don't need nine track stars.
But a few players who don't require a calendar to go from first to third would be helpful.
6. THE FARM SYSTEM CANNOT REMAIN A SHOWROOM
The Dodgers have one of baseball's most impressive player development systems.
And they have some truly exciting young players.
Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero, Alex Freeland, and other young talents represent something the major league roster desperately needs.
Youth. Hunger. Athleticism. Energy.
Yet the organization has frequently preferred established veterans and expensive acquisitions over opportunities for emerging players.
There is a price for that approach.
Young players need opportunities to develop, make mistakes, and establish themselves.
A prospect cannot help the Dodgers if he is permanently blocked by an expensive veteran whose best seasons occurred three years ago.
And continually trading talented young players for established stars can eventually weaken the foundation of the organization.
The Dodgers need to become younger without becoming worse.
That's Andrew Friedman's next great challenge.
7. THE FINANCIAL MODEL MAY BE HEADING FOR A COLLISION
The Dodgers have used their financial muscle brilliantly.
Deferred contracts, enormous payroll commitments, international acquisitions, and aggressive trades helped produce championships.
Nobody should pretend otherwise.
But Major League Baseball could face significant economic changes as labor negotiations approach.
A salary cap, stricter spending controls, or new financial restrictions could alter the competitive landscape dramatically.
The Dodgers have built a roster in which expensive veterans occupy numerous positions.
What happens if the economic rules change?
What happens when multiple veterans decline simultaneously?
What happens when the farm system is required to replace several stars instead of one?
The Dodgers cannot assume that every problem will be solved by writing another nine-figure check.
Eventually, roster construction must involve something beyond acquiring the most expensive available player.
8. THE POSTSEASON EXPOSED THE GAP BETWEEN TALENT AND PERFORMANCE
Nobody can deny the Dodgers' talent.
But talent isn't the same as performance.
The Brewers proved that.
They played with energy, executed fundamentals, and took advantage of opportunities.
The Dodgers looked like a team accustomed to winning because they possessed superior individual talent.
When that talent didn't produce, there wasn't much of a Plan B.
And let's not blame everything on Dave Roberts.
Should Doc have told the pitchers to pitch better? Absolutely!
Should he have instructed hitters to stop making outs? Brilliant idea!
Perhaps he should have reminded the fielders that catching the ball is preferable to watching it land.
What an incompetent manager!
Seriously, Roberts deserves scrutiny for his decisions, as every manager does. But the larger problems involve roster construction, health, athleticism, and performance.
Managers cannot manufacture healthy pitching arms or restore the foot speed of aging veterans.
Those are organizational problems.
9. THE DODGERS NEED MORE THAN A FEW COSMETIC CHANGES
It's tempting to believe that one major free-agent acquisition will solve everything.
Sign another superstar!
Trade for another ace!
Add another $300 million contract!
That approach has worked before.
But the Dodgers' problems are becoming structural.
They need to rethink how they balance youth and experience, power and speed, talent and durability.
They need more athletic players, healthier pitchers, and better ways to manufacture offense.
They need to find room for young talent before that talent becomes someone else's success story.
And they need to consider whether keeping every aging superstar until the end of his contract is necessarily the best way to build the next championship team.
Sentimentality is wonderful.
It just isn't a substitute for production.
10. ANDREW FRIEDMAN'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE MAY BE AHEAD
Andrew Friedman deserves extraordinary credit.
Three World Series championships in seven seasons are not an accident.
The Dodgers have become one of the most successful organizations in professional sports.
But the challenge of sustaining greatness may prove more difficult than achieving it.
Building a championship roster is difficult.
Knowing when to dismantle parts of that roster is even harder.
Great executives recognize problems before those problems become disasters.
Friedman now faces questions that cannot necessarily be answered with money.
Who stays?
Who goes?
Which prospects are ready?
Which veterans are declining?
Which pitchers can actually remain healthy?
And which expensive contracts are going to become obstacles to rebuilding the next great Dodgers team?
These are not small decisions.
They will shape the future of the franchise.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Dodgers are not a poverty franchise.
They are not devoid of talent.
They are not destined to finish last.
They won 100 games in 2026, for crying out loud!
But that doesn't mean everything is fine.
The ownership situation brings financial uncertainty. The roster is aging. The pitching staff has recurring health problems. The offense is too dependent on power. The team lacks sufficient speed, and the window for some of its greatest stars is narrowing.
The Dodgers need changes.
Possibly BIG changes.
But before everyone starts demanding that Friedman fire Roberts, trade half the roster, and ship Mookie Betts to a retirement community, remember something.
This organization has won three championships since 2020.
That's not pathetic.
That's remarkable.
What's potentially pathetic is pretending that yesterday's championship roster automatically guarantees tomorrow's championship.
The Brewers didn't beat the Dodgers' history.
They beat the Dodgers' current roster.
And if the Dodgers want to return to the World Series in 2027, they need to start building a team designed to win in 2027, not one built to celebrate what happened in 2024 and 2025.
The future isn't about collecting more Hall of Famers.
It's about finding the next generation of them.
Otherwise, the Dodgers may soon have the most expensive retirement community in Major League Baseball.
And the residents won't even get an October parade.
What say you, Dodger fans? Is this roster in need of minor repairs, a major renovation, or a complete demolition?
Discussion (83)
Disagree, not disagreeable
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Bowden recently floated the following trade idea on the podcast 'GM Territory':
Dodgers receive: OF James Wood, SS CJ Abrams Washington Nationals receive: C Dalton Rushing, P Emmet Sheehan, All-Star starter Justin Wrobleski, and top prospect Josue De Paula
Who says yes? I don’t.
Young players need opportunities to develop, make mistakes, and establish themselves.
The Dodgers have been to the post season for 14 straight years. The problem with always being that competitive is it minimizes the ability to develop players at the MLB level. Comparatively, the Brewers have also done a masterful job of also being relevant. 2020 4th. Lost WC 2021. 1st. Lost NLDS 2022. 2nd Missed Playoffs 2023. 1st. Lost WC 2024. 1st. Lost WC 2025. 1st. Lost NLCS 2026. 1st. Going to WS
Given the number of complaints Dodger fans have about the team, how many would rather be the Brewers? As good as the Brewers are this year, will they continue to play at that level for the next 7 years?
Good excuse to get leaner, younger, faster.
It's obvious that there are many free agents that are gone. Rojas. Kike. Treinen. Graterol. Lauer.
Other free agents are not clear - Vesia, Phillips, Skubal, Bubic.
If I were king I would trade one of the oft-injured starters (Glasnow is cheapest and under contract for only 1 more year) and Teo. Plan on saying goodbye to Freddie after 2027 (if there's a season). Make room for some of the prospects to play.
I don't think they will re-sign Skubal - too expensive. Vesia and Phillips are good relievers but the bullpen exploded over and over and Vesia averaged 6 BB/9 IP and Phillips gave up 6 HR in 26 innings. Not automatic that they return.
With Friedman, expect the unexpected. He will make a trade that no one sees coming.
I don't want to read all that.
We don't know what the front office will do. I don't. I can't even guess. Get JDP in lineup? That's be nice, but I don't know how - except something crazy like putting Ohtani in left. I think he's special offensively, and I'll forever cringe if I have to watch another Yordan rake for someone else, but maybe he gets traded to reload with can't miss players to play in one to two years.
In the meantime, Muncy isn't going anywhere. Freeman isn't going anywhere. Betts isn't going anywhere.
Are the Dodgers getting old? Sure. And?
"The Dodger are old! ... and they can't beat winning teams! The end is nigh!!"
Yeah, I understood your point the first 20 times or so you posted. I get it. It's just monomaniacal now - and repetitive and not really insightful. Suggest a solution, then.
Or don't, cuz most of the suggestions here - putting JDP in CF or trading Muncy - are just dumb and give me headache.
I'd rather watch this over and over.
Well, that post was way too long and covered too much ground.... But I did find the knee-jerk defense of Doc! But not a single word that addressed his curious tactical moves to have Max pinch-hit for Pages with a lot of game left, or of wasting JdP's obvious talent. God forbid that the manager be faulted for occasional mis-management! (Does Doc's poop smell like rose petals?) Yes, it's not the manager's fault when a pinch-hitter strikes out. But did the pinch-hitter put himself in the game? Did the pinch-hitter put Andy Pages on the bench? Spilt milk. What went wrong in 2026? Not as much as we may think. Hey, the Dodgers still won a 100 games and walked away with another division title, right? And yes, the Brewers are young and fast and well-managed. But some important things really did go wrong. There is an overarching problem. It started, I think, the reckless spending--especially the record-breaking $240 million, 4-year contract for Kyle Tucker. The $60 million AAV was a record for a position player--and second only to the GOAT unicorn's $70m AAV. This was a "let's be pigs" move at the extreme, because the Dodgers really didn't NEED Tucker to win, given various opportunities on the FA and trade market. But AF apparently preferred to write another big fat check. Even if Tucker had delivered his typical all-star level production, the contract still would have been exorbitant, but the return-on-investment reasonable. All-star-level production could have compensated for the expected regression from aging stars like Freddie, Mookie, Max and Teo. But as it happened, these old guys, none of whom truly played great, actually outperformed the $60 million man. We fans just seemed to become resigned to Tucker's mediocrity. (I largely agree with the "too old" critique of the Dodgers--but Tucker actually make the team younger.) Remember the semi-excitement after he first signed? (I say "semi" because Tucker just isn't an exciting, charismatic guy.) Doc was enthused discussing whether to bat Tucker 2nd, 3rd or 4th in the order. Tucker was in his prime and would energize and reinforce the top of lineup studded with future Hall of Famers! But after a couple months Doc was batting him 6th or 7th, or giving him a day off. You might say I'm beating a dead horse. But Kyle Tucker lives! His contract lives for another three seasons! We can only hope that 2026 will someday be remembered as an abberration in his own HOF career. But right now I'm more worried that his too-big-to-fail contract will block the progress of Sirota, Tibbs, Davalan, Ehrhard, Quintero and other prospects in '27, '28, '29. (Will the Dodgers try Tucker at 1B? We can only hope!) Moreover, Tucker's contract can also prevent good trades from happening. Right now, a lot of us are hoping that Teo will be dealt to make room for JdP. Fat chance dealing Tucker. His contract limits the front office's flexibility. Tucker's contract is spilt milk that hasn't been cleaned up yet. So we'll just have to live with that while finding other ways to get younger and faster. JdP is a good start. Sirota and Ehrhard might be ready too. And Tibbs too--though it's not clear how he'll fit. Keep an eye on the SS market. Mookie, even a year older, will be an upgrade at 2B.
If you’re pushing for speed, are you willing to give up on OPS? Not sure if you followed the ALCS but Chandler Simpson had critical infield hits, bunts and stolen bases. He hit .303 for the season but only a .689 OPS. His speed also put increased pressure on the defense. Sounds a bit like Kendall George.
Just a suggestion, I would Not leave the picture of Mark Walter behind bars on the site, should anyone from the organization visit the site. I personally think it is inappropriate in that he has Not been criminally charged with any crime, just being investigated.
I can see you don't spend a lot of time writing your articles any more . Just a couple of doom and gloom instructions inputted into claude and you're good to go. Any realist named Ray Charles could see that you need to get a sense of perspective. Every year AF puts the best team out there, and they accomplish their goal... make the playoffs. After all October is a crapshoot....right?right? Book em
I get it, I really do. I understand "sports ages". So I don't need to be taken to the woodshed over this. But I still do always get a chuckle out of a bunch of guys who are mostly somewhere from 60 to 80 years old pontificating about how a bunch of guys in their thirties are old. 🤣🤣
"The Dodgers need to become younger without becoming worse." THIS LINE!!!
This is what we did in the late part of last decade. Kept making the playoffs while incorporating Joc, Seager, Belly, Buehler, Urias etc.
We haven't done it as much this decade (granted we've also won 3 titles). But now, aside from Pages, we need more young offensive players to step up.
So Mark, we should reverse the old adage of old age and treachery beats youth and skills. It doesn't work anymore. Ray Charles is overused so, even "Blind Mellon Chitlin" (Cheech and Chong) can see and sing about it. No doubt, we gots to get younger, faster and more energetic to complete with these cheap-assed owners. The bottom feeders raid the top draft talent before we even get a nibble. They get 9 of the first 65 picks and we get two, and none of the top 40. Eventually all those draft picks produce a talented team because they don't clog the roster with long term contracts and old talent. And it doesn't cost them much money. Not good for the Dodgers but good for baseball ⚾.
So, how do the Dodgers get younger? They have 9 free agents. Rojas has retired so that leaves 8. Kike, Treinen, Skubal, Vesia, Lauer, Phillips, Bubic and Graterol. Graterol and Bubic are the youngest players on the list at 28. Skubal is 29. The only one I think the Dodgers will consider resigning is Vesia. Treinen cannot stay healthy, and Phillips is now 31 and has had some issues of his own. Brock Stewart cannot become a free agent until 28. To me, Teo is a lock to be traded. With both Kike and Rojas gone, that leaves Edman as the lone true utility player on the roster. It is doubtful to me that they would use someone like Freeland in that role. The new CBA will determine if there is a cap or no., I think the players will not allow that to happen, so a work lockout is possible. DePaula will get the first shot at playing left with Pages in center and Tucker in right. Except for 2nd base, none of the incumbents are going anywhere. Freddie will play the final season of his contract, Max, who was second on the team in WAR to Pages, will be back for what probably is his final year at the age of 36, he turns 37 in August. Smith will be the starting catcher and hopefully is healthy all year. Mookie will be back at SS unless they trade for one. The pen and the bench will need some retooling. I see Alex Call being dealt and they need a better backup catcher than Feduccia. Rushing will get that role if he is healthy enough to throw. I see the need for a power bat off of the bench, something they have lacked for quite a while. The rotation has many candidates, but Yoshi, Snell, Shohei are locks. Sheehan might finally get his chance, and so might Wrobo. I also think they part ways with Kim, who expressed displeasure with his playing time. I don't think he is a future all-star by any means.
I used to love watching Fantasy Island when I was a kid. My 2027 Dodgers fantasy has Shohei, Elly De La Cruz, and JDP in the lineup. How can the Dodgers and Reds make that happen?
Mark, this was really a tremendous post today regarding the current issues and the future. What a great summery of upcoming issues and the decisions that will have to be made in the areas you mentioned.
Mark - “they need to consider whether keeping every aging superstar until the end of his contract is necessarily the best way to build the next championship team.” Yesterday I was looking at the existing, aging stars, while understanding that players age differently (Miggy Ro is still a very good player and lasted until almost 38 and could go to 39, if he chose)
This jumps out at me: Mookie - age 34, signed thru 2032 - That’s age 40. Ohtani - age 32 signed thru 2033 - That’s age 39 Freeman - age 37 thru 2027. - age 38 Smith - age 31 sighed thru 2033.- age 38 Muncy - age 36 signed thru 2027 - age 37 Edman - age 31 signed thru 2029 - age 33 Teoscar - 34 signed thru 2027 - age 35 Tucker - 29 signed thru 2027 - age 30
Blake Snell - pushing 34. Signed thru 2029, 30 team option - age 38 Glasnow - age 33. signed thru 2027, option in 28 - age 35 Diaz - age 32. signed thru 2028, option for 29 - age 35 Scott - 32 - signed thru 2028, & 29 vesting option - age 35
That is a pile of money on players, some of which will NOT be productive at the end of their contracts. Way too much dead-money. AF counted on some titles with this group that will not likely happen without an infusion of youth
Mark- “Against elite postseason pitching, an offense needs options. It needs hitters who can adjust, put the ball in play, move runners, use the opposite field, and manufacture runs without waiting for a 430-foot blast.” AMEN Mark said a mouthful in this area. I believe the wave of the future swings back to more contact, defense and speed. Like the Brewers currently play. How many times did they get on with a walk, hit or error, steal 2nd and score on a base hit? There will always be power guys but not entire lineups.
While I’m at it, I would love to see other changes in organizational priorities. Like HOLDING RUNNERS. It just isn’t an emphasis and it kills us. Every walk or single is a double and our catchers have NO shot. Smith’s career caught stealing stats are skewed because of the pitchers.
Also I’d like to see an increased emphaHitting is hard. Every 0 and 2 count doesn’t warrant 2 or 3 chase pitches, many noncompetitive. With foul balls, pitch counts get quickly elevated. I’m changing my mind about challenging hitters early in counts, even 0 and 2. I watch hitters think nothing of taking called 3rd strikes with nothing said. But is a pitcher gives up a hit on 0 and 2, the announcers go ape-shit. What’s the difference. Challenge hitters and trust your stuff. If I throw 100, i’m not getting beat at the bottom of the order on sliders.
The game is always changing but I’m not sure it isn’t time to change back to basic shit in many areas. The pendulum always keeps swinging.
It should be very interesting to see how Mark’s areas marinate.
Gosh, this really was a tough read.
He was a head case, but watching this, I do miss Puig a little. An amazing talent undone by knuckle headedness.
Wow! A bit harsh. You take some incredibly talented players, pitchers, trainers, stradijests, managers, (and their families), and break them into little pieces. Ouch! And most probably because you feel weak, and or broken, at a loss to the WS. But let me tell you. The Dodgers organization is a well orchestrated buisness and is nothing shy of excellence. Every player, pitcher, (on the roster or not), are effective and great baseball journeymen. Did the Brewers beat them? Hell yes they did. They had more spunk, more fire, and more determination at it's peak. Was it management on Brewers part that steered them in for the kill? Perhaps, but less likely in my opinion. It was the players themselves! They flat out wanted it at any cost. While the Dodgers, (and no ridicule here), are the one game at a time team. Steady, punctual, focused they work as a whole, together, their magic collectively shared and surprising each other at their individual craft. After all that's how they are fashioned. The Brewers on the other hand, checked in for a win. They took it in on their own, and with the right dynamics it got them there. But not because the Dodger's are too old, come on, what a joke. When any player young or old is injured, they are unavailable, period. You are only to old for any position innany occupation when you can no longer do the job. The Brewers were thirsty, while the Dodgers have drank their fill for several years already. The Brewers win won't happen again, not in that way. But you will see the Dodger's there again after 100 wins or more next season, playing in stride, steadfast and sure, to their phenomenal talent as always. Each player, pitcher, manager, strategist, bringing it in for the next win. Go Dodgers!
The Dodgers should hang on to Teo until the trade deadline next season. The Dodgers would then have a quality bat in case JDP needs some more time. If Teo gets off to a great start even in a dimished role, a team with a shot at the playoffs will come hunting to take him for their DH. The Dodgers would get a quality return even if in prospects. After the lockout some low level spending teams may be forced to spend. Teo would be a good catch with an expiring contract. Again if they get a quality return before the lockout the Dodgers should make room for JPD. I can’t understand the criticism of Freeman. Yes he regressed in the second half. We have no idea how his injury played in equation but he had a nice year. I read all season about how many errors Freeman saved because of his ability to snag bad throws. I agree he needs to take a lot more timeouts during the season but the guy is a top tier player. Glasgow and Snell didn’t pitch much in the regular season. Not sure if that was be design or because of injury. But I’d think being healthy in the playoffs is more important than the regular season. If the Dodgers were being in a tight pennant race or playoff race one would wonder if Snell and Glasgow would have been brought back earlier. The contract that has me most concerned is Will Smith’s. He is one of my favorite all time Dodgers and I’m old. His position along with his age is worrisome. Myself along with others advocated for the Dodgers to make Smith more versatile like playing some at third or second. But I trust in the Dodgers front office.