"On paper, you think there's no way this team can possibly lose" - Former MLB manager Joe Maddon impressed by Dodgers' offseason moves

A two-time World Series-winning coach and a three-time Manager of the Year, Joe Maddon recently voiced his appreciation for the overtly stacked Los Angeles Dodgers' roster heading into the 2024 MLB season.

Maddon was overseeing a charity event in Clearwater, Florida, when he was asked about LA's immaculate offseason, which saw the organization shell out a whopping $1.2 billion to sign a multitude of talent.

The MLB Tonight host started by wishing Joe Maddon on his 70th birthday and went on to ask about the Dodgers' "spending spree," to which he replied:

"I think they did a great job with how the money is being deferred etc. It is kind of a powerhouse, right? On paper, you think there is no way they can possibly lose. The pitchers and players they wanted, they have them now."

Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Clayton Kershaw are the MVPs on the team. Kershaw has won the Cy Young Award three times. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has won Japan's version of the Cy Young Award (the Sawamura Award) three times while playing for the Orix Buffaloes in the NPB.

Arguably the greatest two-way player of all time, Ohtani is a phenom who inked a $700 million, ten-year contract and deferred $680 million of that amount past 2034. Yamamoto, a 25-year-old who had never pitched in a major league, signed the highest pitching deal in history for $325 million and broke the record, previously held by Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole.

As the season goes on, Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and maybe Dustin May could all be added to the rotation. Players like Bobby Miller, Tyler Glasnow, Evan Phillips, James Outman, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, and Max Muncy are essential pieces of the puzzle who will attempt to string together a formidable unit in the upcoming MLB season.

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For the LA Dodgers, the mentality rides on a World Series or nothing at all

The Los Angeles Dodgers slashed their payroll significantly in the previous season and still won 100 games. They won the NL West for the 10th time in 11 years before losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLDS and making an exit from the playoffs for the second time in a row. The Padres defeated the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS.

That stopgap in the payroll can turn out to be a major boon for LA, as they are the strongest unit on paper, provided their aces keep up with their health through the major part of the 2024 MLB season. The Dodgers have impactful players in every department of the game and will look to claim the elusive Fall Classic title since last claiming it in the COVID-ridden season of 2020.