Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
The Dodgers, projected to have an unstoppable lineup in 2022, now have kind of a fail lineup at the moment.
Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman have been very good, as expected.
Mookie Betts was absolutely unstoppable during that hot run, but otherwise was kind of fail offensively, and now is injured for awhile. Very weird season for him so far.
But the real problem has been the trio of Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger. They each have different issues. Turner is just old and worn down. Honestly he should just retire after 2022. Muncy seems to have not recovered from his September 2021 injury, and I'm wondering if he'll ever be the same player again. Muncy was always a bit of an oddity. He was never highly regarded as a prospect, and was mediocre in the minors. He was a failplayer for Oakland in his short time up with them. Then he joined the Dodgers, spend a year in the minors, and killed it when promoted. He has an incredible eye for balls and strikes, and unexpected power, but you have to wonder if both the injury and the league are catching up with him. Bellinger was highly regarded and lived up to it, but just like Muncy, he's never been the same guy since getting hurt. This will be the third consecutive year where he's bad. You gotta wonder if he's destined to be one of those guys who killed it at the beginning but fell apart.
Anyway, these three have basically become automatic outs (especially Muncy), and they've killed so many rallies, it's getting sad.
Dodgers are squeaking by right now via smoke and mirrors. Bullpen isn't particularly good (Hudson getting hurt is going to be a killer), Buehler was never right and now probably missing all of 2022, and who knows how long Tony Gonsolin will keep up this Jacob Degrom imitation?
I guess I'll have to see what they pull off at the trade deadline.
I still have a soft spot for the Reds' Tyler Mahle. He hasn't had the best year, but I bet the Dodgers could fix him. I kind of have the feeling that he's on their radar.