Chapter 21: 2023, A farewell to arms
The Dodgers run out of pitching and stop hitting and a 100 win season disappears in five days
After a short stay in the 2022 playoffs, the Dodgers offseason before 2023 did not make the faithful overly excited about the team’s prospects for the coming season.
Shortstop Trea Turner left as a free agent, signing with the Phillies. Former MVP Cody Bellinger left as a free agent, signing with the Cubs. Tyler Anderson, who had a surprisingly good 2022, cashed out with a big contract with the Angels. Andrew Heaney left to play for Texas. Fan favorite Justin Turner left for Boston, along with Chris Martin. Craig Kimbrel was gone to Philadelphia, but no one seemed to mind.
The Dodgers sat out most of the free agent market, just signing role players such as outfielders David Peralta and infielder Miguel Rojas. The replacements for the missing pitchers would be internal and bolstered by the return of Dustin May from arm surgery.
The prevailing wisdom said that the Dodgers were clearing payroll space so they could go big on the biggest free agent prize of all for the 2024 season: Shohei Ohtani.
But everything went pear-shaped quickly during spring training. In the first exhibition game of the season, Gavin Lux, who was supposed to replace Trea Turner at short, blew out his knee and required season-ending surgery. Rojas went from spare part to starting shortstop.
Tony Gonsolin was expected to become a big part of the rotation, but he got hurt early, and then, when he returned, his starts were all short, eventually Gonsolin had to get Tommy John surgery.
May returned and made nine starts and then had another arm surgery. Clayton Kershaw was sharp early, but didn’t pitch many innings in his start and always seemed like something was wrong.1
The Dodgers turned to the minors for help. One pitcher came up and did a pretty good job: Bobby Miller. Emmet Sheehan had his moments. Michael Grove looked unfinished. The most heralded minor leaguer, Ryan Pepiot, was injured much of the year and when he came up, he was effective in short stints.
The Dodgers hoped that they could pull off some reclamation jobs with starter Noah Syndergaard and reliever Alex Reyes. Syndergaard looked done and was eventually traded to Cleveland, who released him. Reyes never made it out of the minors and was beset with arm problems.
And yet, the Dodgers won 100 games and the division easily. How did this happen?
The answer was the first two batters in the Dodgers lineup: Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Betts cracked 39 homers and drove in 107 runs as a leadoff hitter, playing right field, second base, and shortstop. Freeman played in 161 games and hit a franchise record 59 doubles along with 29 homers.
The rest of the offense was a pastiche of platoons and rotations. Will Smith started a lot of games at catcher as backup Austin Barnes struggled mightily at the plate. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez hit 33 homers in just 113 games. James Outman proved to be a capable replacement for Bellinger in center field, hitting 23 homers.
When the Dodgers looked for help at the trade deadline, there were few big deals made. Joe Kelley made his triumphal return to Los Angeles (he pitched in 11 games). Lance Lynn ate innings as a starter. Amad Rosario came in from Cleveland and helped out at second base. Enrique Hernandez came home from Boston and resumed being a fan favorite.
The Dodgers also lost pitcher Julio Urias for the season. But not with an injury. In August, Urias was arrested outside BMO Stadium after and LAFC match against Inter Miami for domestic abuse. This was Urias’ second arrest for the offense and the team quickly removed his locker and almost all public traces of him at the stadium.
Up until the time of the All-Star game, Arizona, led by dynamic rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll, was leading the division. But the D-Backs went into a tailspin as the Dodgers started to surge. The Giants made a brief run at a playoff spot, but ultimately foundered and sank. In the end, the Dodgers won the division by 16 games over Arizona, who made the playoffs as the NL’s third wild card behind Philadelphia and Miami. 2
The Dodgers, as one of the two best division winners, waited five days after the end of the regular season, to see who they would play in the Division Series, it would be either NL Central Champ Milwaukee or Arizona. The Diamondbacks won both games in Milwaukee to set up an all NL West Division series.
The Dodgers were determined to avoid the fate that befell them the year before against another division foe.
In Game One, Kershaw, despite decreased velocity and complaints of a sore shoulder, got the start. The first batter, Ketel Marte, doubled. Corbin Carroll singled him home. Tommy Pham singled. Christian Walker doubled home Carroll. Gabriel Moreno hit a 3-run homer and Arizona led 5-0 and still had not made an out. Kershaw induced a groundout from Lourdes Gurriel, but then walked Alek Thomas and gave up an RBI double to Evan Longoria. And that was it for Kershaw. The Dodgers never threatened against Merrill Kelly and Arizona won 11-2.
Game 2 was supposed to be the game when Bobby Miller would save the Dodgers season. He did not. The first three Arizona batters reached and would in turn score on a sacrifice fly, ground out, and an RBI single. Unlike Kershaw, Miller made it to the second inning, but was taken out after 1 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers closed the gap to 4-2 with one out in the sixth. Arizona reliever Ryan Thompson struck out Outman and then Kolten Wong, who was a surprise addition to the postseason roster, pinch hit for Rojas. Wong grounded out. Arizona won Game 2, 4-2.
Game 3 would see the Dodgers hope that Lance Lynn could channel the spirit of Jose Lima. Lynn would be matched up against Arizona rookie Brandon Pfaadt. Lynn made it through the first two innings without giving up a run. Optimism was high in Dodger fandom. Then came the third inning.
Ninth place hitter Geraldo Perdomo homered. Two batters later, Marte homered. Two batters after that, Walker and Moreno homered. Lynn was gone. The bullpen kept the game close and the Dodgers got to 4-2 again, but no closer.
Betts finished the playoffs 0 for 11. Freeman was 1 for 10. The Dodgers batted .177 in the series and only Smith and Hernandez had more than 2 hits. Martinez hit the only home run. The Dodgers never led in the series and were tied for just two innings. They were behind for 25 of the 27 innings, a performance evocative of the abysmal 1966 World Series.
Arizona, much to everyone’s surprise, made it all the way to the World Series, losing in five games to Texas. Former Dodger Corey Seager won his second World Series MVP.
When the World Series ended, Clayton Kershaw announced that he had shoulder surgery and hoped to pitch again “in the summer.” But was the disastrous Game 1 start, the last Dodgers outing for Kershaw? What will be his legacy?
Despite Arizona’s postseason success, the Dodgers will still be the likely favorites to win the NL West in 2004.
Foreshadowing, part 1
Foreshadowing, part 2
Did J.D. Martinez have the best season for DH in Dodger history?