Once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers were baseball's best team during the regular season. Once again, they didn't take home a World Series ring.
L.A. fell far short of the Fall Classic, suffering a stunning NLDS upset defeat to their NL West rival San Diego Padres. Though the Dodgers won it all in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, that remains their only title in a run of 10 straight postseason appearances.
After four 100-plus-win campaigns in the past five full seasons, what can the Dodgers do to stay on top all year -- October included? Here's a look at their notable free agents and trade candidates and their three biggest questions heading into 2023 and beyond.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Notable free agents: SS Trea Turner, SP Clayton Kershaw, RP Craig Kimbrel, 3B Justin Turner (club option), SP Andrew Heaney, SP Tyler Anderson, RP Tommy Kahnle, INF Hanser Alberto (club option), SP/RP David Price, OF Joey Gallo
Let's use this section to explore a name who is not on this list but could be: Cody Bellinger, who's slated to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 million in his final year of arbitration this offseason. Bellinger won the NL MVP in 2019, but since then he has batted only .203/.272/.376 and hasn't really shown any signs of getting back to his elite form offensively. In Game 4 of the NLDS, with a right-hander on the opposing mound and the Dodgers facing elimination, Bellinger was on the bench, a telling representation of how far he has fallen. Bellinger still brings plenty of defensive value at center field and is a major power threat at the bottom of a lineup. At 27, he's also young enough to inspire hope. But one has to wonder if a change of scenery might benefit both sides at this point. And whether the Dodgers would be better off non-tendering him in order to allocate that money elsewhere.