Aside from the Rockies, guess which NL team scored the most runs in 2014?
Yup, the Dodgers. And it wasn't even close. The third most was scored by Washington, who had 32 fewer runs than the Dodgers. And this was a team playing half its games in a pitchers' park.
Conclusion? THIS WAS THE BEST OFFENSIVE TEAM IN THE NL, when you adjust for park factors! Why are they reinventing it? Relief pitching was the problem last year. Bottom of rotation starting pitching was also a bit of a problem. But not the offense.
Nevertheless, the new regime has decided to wipe much of the offensive slate clean.
First, Hanley Ramirez wasn't re-signed. That made sense. Most agreed that the defensive-challenged and oft-injured Ramirez wasn't worth a big contract.
Then they picked up Rollins from the Phillies. Okay, he only had a year to go, and is likely just a stopgap until Cory Seager is ready.
But then it got weird.
Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas, and Dan Haren were traded to the Marlins for big-time pitching prospect Andrew Heaney and a few nobodies. I didn't love this, but I understood it. Gordon isn't a sure thing, and may regress back to his poor-hitting ways. Haren is contractual dead weight. And Heaney has value as a trading piece, with most assuming he would be shipped to the Phillies for Cole Hamels.
Then they immediately shipped Heaney across town to the Angels, for Howie Kendrick. But Kendrick wasn't anythign special last year. He hit .293, but only 7 HR, and lacks Gordon's blazing speed. Kendrick was very good defensively, but so was Gordon, who didn't get nearly enough credit for his defensive improvements and contributions.
But then the most puzzling thing happened. Matt Kemp was sent to the Padres for Yasmani Grandal and a few nobodies.
Huh??
Kemp has 5 years and $107 million left on his contract, but the Dodgers shipped $31 million to the Padres. So the Padres get him for 5 years for $76 million -- or about $15 million per year! Good deal for the Padres, right? Why are the Dodgers trying to dump a player like Kemp to save $15 mil per year?
Grandal is a .245 career hitter with some decent (but not spectacular) power. Nothing special at all.
Most concerning, it's THEIR OWN FREAKING DIVISION! If Kemp hits like he did in the second half of 2014, the Dodgers are going to suffer for this, even if the Padres don't contend. Kemp will likely beat them in some games, as they play the Padres a ton of times every year. The Padres have less to worry about, as it's unlikely that Yasmani Grandal will be a game-changer or a Padre-killer in the coming years.
2014 lineup:
C AJ Ellis
1B Adrian Gonzalez
2B Dee Gordon
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B Juan Uribe
LF Matt Kemp
CF Yasiel Puig
RF Carl Crawford
2015 lineup:
C Yasmani Grandal
1B Adrian Gonzalez
2B Howie Kendrick
SS Jimmy Rollins
3B Juan Uribe
LF Joc Pedersen
CF Yasiel Puig
RF Carl Crawford
The 2014 version looked a hell of a lot scarier for opposing teams.