Following an almost perfect season last year, being one win away from a World Series title, the Los Angeles Dodgers are still at risk of being arguably one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this year.
Hopes were high heading into this season with many believing that if the Dodgers’ core group remained intact, they could finally return to glory.
Thus far however, an injury-riddled start to the year has left fans wondering if the team will even stay atop their division.
Those fans have a good point.
Last year’s team came to fruition thanks to great seasons from Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, and Cody Bellinger. The four of them combined were unstoppable as they lead the team to a Major League Baseball best 104-58 regular season record, a Silver Slugger Award for Corey Seager, and a National League Championship Series MVP award for Justin Turner in the playoffs.
Clayton Kershaw has also been the best pitcher in baseball since he joined the league, while Cody Bellinger made Dodgers’ management look good with his Rookie of the Year title.
Now it very well may still be too early to call the season for the Dodgers, but they have proven before that they cannot get out of their own way at times as the injuries continue to headline their season.
.@SAConScene Final Fantasy 7 cosplay at #AX2018 pic.twitter.com/WahG1L06uE
— Guillermo Soza (@gjsoza) July 5, 2018
It was towards the end of training camp when Justin Turner was hit by a pitch that would cause him to break his wrist and miss time. Although the injury didn’t require surgery, it foreshadowed how the season would start for the Dodgers. He missed two months, only to come back to a team with various other injuries.
Young stud, Corey Seager, is out for the rest of the season due to requiring Tommy John surgery. This is another huge blow as the Dodgers lose their Silver Slugger winner.
BREAKING: @Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2018 season. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/cwWxsHdSzi
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 30, 2018
Clayton Kershaw has also spent time on the disabled list with a couple of 10-day trips to shorten his season thus far. Julio Urias, hasn’t played a game this season and can’t be counted on to make any sort of return.
The list goes on for awhile, but perhaps one of the more disappointing blows for fans was a new hip injury to pitcher Kenta Maeda.
Maeda had been the lone star of the Dodgers bullpen this season partly due to his availability within the starting rotation. He then joined a laundry list of starting pitchers that were already on the disabled list for the Dodgers including; Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Kenta Maeda talks about his hip strain, when he initially felt the pain and possibly heading to the DL. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/BhOzC2h5vd
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) May 30, 2018
All of them are expected back by the All-Star break, leaving the healthiest starter, Alex Wood, to lead. However, he had recently been dealing with hamstring cramps that forced him out of a couple starts.
The Boston Red Sox are currently at the top of the leader board, as they lead MLB and their division with a 59-29 record as of July 4. At this same time last year, the Dodgers led their division as well with a 56-29 record, having played three games fewer.
This year however, they hold a record of 47-39 heading into July 5, half a game behind of first in the division.
Time isn’t running out on the Dodgers’ 2018 season, but it is filled with a physically and mentally broken team. While we have seen some reassuring signs, there is little to really affirm the fact that this team can overcome all of their obstacles.
The weakened division does give hope to a possible trip to the playoffs, but ultimately only time will tell if the Los Angeles Dodgers can come up with some semblance of their glory from last year.
