This week we finish our 2024 National League preview series with the NL West. This division sent a team to the World Series in 2023, and has a very good chance to do so this year.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Like the Braves in the East, you can’t talk about the NL West division and not start with the Dodgers. They have won 100+ games in four of the last five seasons, the outlier being the COVID-shortened one in which they won the World Series.
They’ve been pretty good.
The scariest thing about the Dodgers is that they just keep getting better. Year after year they call up prospects who make immediate impacts, and supplement their deep farm with highly-touted free agents.
This year, they made the biggest move in the offseason signing Shohei Ohtani. He won’t pitch in 2024, but that doesn’t matter since the Dodgers are backing him up with Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, James Paxton, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Not to mention they can get back Walker Buehler and Dustin May at some point this season.
They also signed Teoscar and Enrique Hernandez (unrelated) to deepen what was already an incredible lineup. I fully expect the Dodgers to win 110 games this season (and then lose to a Wild Card team in the NLDS).
Arizona Diamondbacks
Nobody expected the D-Backs to sweep the Dodgers in the 2023 NLDS, let alone go to the World Series. However, if you were surprised by a Wild Card berth from that team, you simply weren’t paying attention. They made a series of great trades last offseason, including sending fan-favorite Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno, a move that would prove to be pivotal in the 2023 run.
This season, they’ve done nothing but get better. Aside from replacing veteran third baseman Evan Longoria with a younger veteran in Eugenio Suarez, they’ve retained their core. On top of that, they’ve added outfielders Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk.
Do I believe the Diamondbacks will win the division in 2024? Of course not. Do I believe they’ll be back in the World Series? Also no.
I just don’t think they’ll experience that “hangover” we often see from the World Series loser. I see them remaining in second place in the NL West and potentially getting another Wild Card spot.
San Diego Padres
The Padres are taking a huge step back in 2024. As of the day this is being written, Blake Snell has not signed with a team, and they’ve lost Juan Soto, Seth Lugo, Josh Hader, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha. That’s a lot to lose without replacements.
In the Juan Soto trade to the New York Yankees they received pitcher Michael King, who could make a great impact this season. However, it’s just not enough to replace the hole that Blake Snell (potentially) leaves.
2023 showed us a team in San Diego that was severely underperforming, but I think it may get even worse in 2024 given the purge of this many players from the organization. I see the Padres missing the playoffs in third or fourth place in the division, possibly even with a losing record.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants are another team I just can’t see taking that next step in 2024. They finished last season under .500 and haven’t really done much to improve this offseason.
San Francisco lost Joc Pederson along with their heartbeat in Brandon Crawford to free agency. They replaced Pederson with Jorge Soler, who has proven he can completely change a team for the better. Is he really worth 10+ wins, though?
They traded Mitch Haniger for pitcher Robbie Ray coming off Tommy John surgery, so he’s a question mark who won’t even contribute until mid-summer. They’ve made some bullpen additions in Jordan Hicks and Amir Garrett, but, again, are those moves going to put them in a better position than last season? Probably not. I once again have the Giants under .500 and missing the playoffs in 2024.
Colorado Rockies
What’s there even to say about this franchise? They’re one of the poorest-run teams in all of sports, and the Kris Bryant contract after sending the face of their franchise to St. Louis for less than nothing set them back years.
There are some positives of course, as there are with any team. Nolan Jones emerged as a great bat last season, and Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon are great players when healthy.
Ultimately, however, this team is not concerned with winning baseball games, and I fully expect another sub-70 win season in 2024.
Predictions
- Dodgers (110-52)
- Diamondbacks (87-75)
- Padres (79-83)
- Giants (74-88)
- Rockies (62-100)
Tough Money Sports 