Everyone is already dreaming of a World Series with the New York Yankees and the Los Angelas Dodgers. The Dodgers made a huge splash last night when they acquired former AL MVP Mookie Betts from the Red Sox in a monster trade.
The Dodgers sent Alex Verdugo to Boston and Kenta Maeda to the Twins while receiving Betts and David Price along with cash. The Dodgers are the clear winners of this trade, especially if they can eventually extend Mookie Betts long-term. However, like with anything, some folks seem to be prisoners of the moment with this deal. The Dodgers were a 106 win team last year, and they just got better offensively and defensively acquiring Mookie Betts, but there are still gaps in their roster. The New York Yankees and the Dodgers are considered the two best teams in baseball on paper, but who’s better? Let’s dive both clubs.
The Los Angelas Dodgers
Their projected lineup is incredible. I mean, look at this lineup:
RF Mookie Betts
1B Max Muncy
3B Josh Turner
CF Cody Bellinger
SS Corey Seager
LF AJ Pollock
2B Gavin Lux
C Will Smith
The Dodgers are not going to be hurting for run production in 2020. The Dodgers were already a top-five offense without Mookie Betts, adding in Betts makes them that much better. Do they have the best lineup in baseball? That is a question for debate. You could easily make that argument for the Dodgers.
Now let’s look at the problem areas for the Dodgers, and that would be their pitching. Their starting rotation isn’t bad currently projected to feature: Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and several guys vying for the last two spots in the rotation. The bullpen contains guys like Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Blake Treinen, Ross Stripling, and Scott Alexander.
While they have some quality pieces, it is far fetched to say that’s a dependable pitching unit. For the bullpen, Kelly and Treinen were awful last year, and Jansen was very shaky at times. For the rotation, the Dodgers are going to be depending on Clayton Kershaw and David Price to help them win a World Series. That’s the equivalent of walking a tightrope thousands of feet up with high wind hoping to make it across. If I were a Dodgers fan, I would be going into this season with the expectations that the team will have to hit their way to a World Series title.
The New York Yankees
Without question, I believe the New York Yankees have the best roster in all of baseball at the moment. The Yankees return the highest-scoring offense in baseball with a lineup consisting of:
2B DJ LeMahieu
RF Aaron Judge
SS Gleyber Torres
LF Giancarlo Stanton
C Gary Sanchez
DH Miguel Andujar
1B Luke Voit
3B Gio Urshela
CF Brett Gardner
The New York lineup is incredible, and that’s without starting center fielder Aaron Hicks, who is out for the first half of the year while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. To go along with this lineup, the Yankees have arguably the best bullpen in baseball featuring: Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, and Chad Green. Oh, and let’s not forget the rotation that the Yankees have, which got a slight upgrade this offseason.
The Yankees have arguably the best rotation in baseball, which is led by ace Gerrit Cole. The Yankees rotation of Cole, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and J.A. Happ/Jordan Montgomery is very good. Severino has ace potential, Paxton was one of the best pitchers in baseball the second half of last season, Tanaka is a postseason wizard, and Gerrit Cole is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Simply put, there are no holes in this Yankees roster on paper. The biggest hurdle for the Yankees will be their battle to stay healthy. The Yankees set a record for players hitting the IL last year, so in my opinion, the Yankees are their own biggest threat in 2020.
The Verdict
Let’s put these two clubs in a vacuum where nobody gets hurt this year. If players play up to their potential and stay healthy, I think the Yankees have the better lineup top to bottom. The Yankees have the better bullpen, and with the signing of Gerrit Cole, the Yankees also have the better rotation. The Yankees are the clear cut favorites to win it all in October, but the Dodgers are a dangerous team. They aren’t as dangerous or as complete as the New York Yankees. Now you can say I’m biased if you like, but if you think the Dodgers are better than the Yankees on paper, you’re wrong.