You think the Dodgers are breaking baseball? Try being another team in the National League West. Los Angeles has won this division in 12 of the past 13 seasons, and its win total in the season of that lone second-place finish (106) is tied for the team’s second-best mark over that 13-year stretch. There was a sense that the Dodgers were toying with the competition for much of last season, as they used their depth to rest any pitcher with a minor ailment before turning their full roster loose down the stretch and winning a second straight World Series title.
After adding Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz in the offseason, the Los Angeles juggernaut might be stronger than ever. Given that the Padres might’ve taken a small step backward this winter and the Giants have hovered around .500 for several seasons, the Dodgers should comfortably finish ahead of the pack again in 2026. The quest for San Diego, San Francisco and Arizona will be to earn a wild-card berth, which might be too much to ask. Meanwhile, the Rockies will be looking for any improvement after a historically bad 2025 season.
Read more previews: NL East | NL Central | AL East | AL Central | AL West | Los Angeles Dodgers
Projected record (per FanGraphs, as of March 13): 99-63, 98.9% odds to make the playoffs, 93.5% odds to win the division
What happened last season? The Dodgers plodded along during the regular season, posting their lowest winning percentage (.574) since 2018, which was still good enough to win the NL West for the 12th time in 13 years. They rolled through the National League in the postseason, going 9-1 against the Reds, Phillies and Brewers, before winning one of the most memorable World Series in MLB history with an extra-innings, Game 7 victory over the Blue Jays. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named World Series MVP, and Shohei Ohtani won the NL MVP award for the second straight year. The team’s slow start in 2025 was mainly due to an injury-riddled rotation, but the starters eventually returned to action and were excellent in October. The lineup was much more stable and led the senior circuit in runs scored.
What happened in the offseason? The rich got richer over the winter. After dealing with ninth-inning inconsistencies throughout 2025, the Dodgers solved that problem by signing the best closer on the open market, Edwin Díaz. And those who responded to that signing by saying the Dodgers were ruining baseball got even more fodder for their outrage when the team signed the consensus top free agent, outfielder Kyle Tucker. On a smaller scale, World Series hero Miguel Rojas and utilityman Enrique Hernandez were each re-signed for another season. Los Angeles didn’t lose a single player who made substantial contributions last year.
[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]
Best-case scenario for 2026: As absurd as it sounds, the season will be a disappointment if the Dodgers finish as anything other than World Series champions. The offense is loaded, with Tucker (career .865 OPS) joining a group that has finished no lower than second in runs scored the past four seasons. The lineup includes five players who logged an OPS over .840 last year, and that doesn’t include superstar Mookie Betts or accomplished slugger Teoscar Hernandez. The rotation is as deep as the lineup and could be the best in baseball if Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki can stay healthy. And with a new anchor in Díaz, the bullpen suddenly features a solid group of setup men, including Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen. Plus, Shohei Ohtani is the greatest player the sport has ever seen and seems to find a way to get better each season. Only a rash of poorly timed injuries or terrible October luck would cause the Dodgers to finish short of their ultimate goal.
Worst-case scenario: The Dodgers finished 17th in ERA last season, as injuries to the rotation and some disappointments in the bullpen held the pitching staff back for most of the year. Similar issues could emerge in 2026, considering that Glasnow and Snell have lengthy injury histories. Sasaki, Treinen and Scott all struggled last season. Weaknesses can be shored up at the trade deadline, but if injuries happen late in the season, the Dodgers might be unable to use their wealth and prospect pool to fix their problems. It’s harder to envision the offense slowing down, but there’s certainly a chance the Dodgers’ bats could be stifled in October. After all, the Blue Jays were one inning away from disposing of the Dodgers last fall.