Dodgers’ fatal flaw that will doom 2025 World Series hopes

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Dodgers’ fatal flaw that will doom 2025 World Series hopes

Matty Breisch · ClutchPoints

Wed, Sep 3, 2025 ·

5 min read

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The post Dodgers' fatal flaw that will doom 2025 World Series hopes appeared first on ClutchPoints .

All things considered, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a pretty good spot heading into the 2025 MLB postseason.

Sure, they continue to play down to their competition, have games where they can't get anything on the scoreboard, and others where no amount of runs is enough to overcome their pitching woes. But with 138 games in the bag, LA has a record of 78-60, which is good enough to hold a two-game lead over the Padres at the time of publication.

Shohei Ohtani is playing at an MVP caliber once more, Mookie Betts has somehow turned things around at the plate, and the dynamic duo of Freddie Freeman and Will Smith is duking it out for the NL batting title with Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick .

And yet, if there's one area where the Dodgers might be in trouble, it's the outfield, specifically the bat of Michael Conforto and the defense of Teoscar Hernandez .

In 2024, Conforto and Hernandez were both exciting players for their respective teams, with the former being a consistent on base presence for the San Francisco Giants , while the latter was a weapon for the boys in blue and white, winning the Home Run Derby in a 33 homer, 99 RBI season that practically forced Andrew Friedman to re-sign him thanks to his instant connection with fans in LA.

On paper, the Dodgers have a few options to get their rotation back on track, with Hyeseong Kim and Tommy Edman soon to return to the lineup on a full-time basis, but for the team to get where they want to be, manager Dave Roberts has to actually make the changes that need to be made, which so far, has been easier said than done.

The Dodgers need to settle on the "right" outfield

When healthy, the Dodgers' infield is more or less set, with Freeman locked in at first, Max Muncy at third, Betts playing short, and likely Hyeseong Kim starting at second base. Andrew Freeland has proven to be a quality starter at any infield spot but first base, which could result in getting the nod over Kim on occasion, and the legacy duo of Miguel Rojas and Kike Hernandez will certainly still get some run at various positions, but that quartet, plus Freeland, are likely the quintet Roberts will go with heading into the fall.

In the outfield, the Dodgers have similar options, but far less guaranteed.

Working his way back from a lingering hamstring injury, Tommy Edman has been focusing on center field in OKC, where he will likely end up playing later this month when he makes his Dodgers return. While Pages has been a solid enough center fielder for LA in 2025, he's an athletic downgrade from Edman and could be a plus defender in left or right field full-time.

If Pages is moved to left field, the Dodgers would be able to match Conforto's defense with a much better bat, but that doesn't solve their issues in right field, where fans have been begging to see Betts play all season long, even if Roberts told reporters in August that simply isn't on the table .

"Mookie will not go to right field… When you're talking about shortstop play, you're looking for consistency, and I've just loved the consistency," Roberts told the LA Times.

"He's made every play he's supposed to make, and then the last couple weeks, he's made spectacular plays. He's been a big part of preventing runs. Right now, it's all instinct instead of the technical part of it, how to do this or that. I think he's free to just be a major league shortstop. I truly, to this day, have never seen a position change like Mookie has."

In 2025, few players on the Dodgers have been as inconsistent as Hernandez, with catchable balls routinely falling just outside of his reach and MLB-level plays turning into extra base hits literally costing the Dodgers full games along the way, as evidenced by his ugly early fielding effort against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 2.

In the court of public opinion, replacing Hernandez with a player like Alex Call , the utility outfielder Friedman acquired at the trade deadline, would be a major downgrade, but would it be?

Hernandez does have 21 home runs, which is third on the team, but his .245/.280/.452 split is a clear downgrade from his 2024 efforts, when he was named an All-Star for only the second time in his career. With a WAR of just .9, a full 3.4 below his 4.3 number in 2024, Hernandez really hasn't provided much positive value to the Dodgers in 2025, with the potential for Call to get on base far more often without the same power potential.

Assuming Edman is the near-full-time center fielder when the postseason rolls around and Pages plays more often than not either in left, right, or center, the Dodgers would be able to use Call or Hernandez interchangeably in right, depending on the matchup, with "Teo" potentially one of the most lethal pinch hitters in the postseason in games where he isn't starting.

And as for Conforto? Well, he's had some success as a pinch hitter, too, and has the potential to be a decent enough defensive sub in place of a player like Hernandez in a close game.

For most of the regular season, the Dodgers have stuck with the same outfield of Conforto, Pages, and Hernandez and have been met with underwhelming results. With Edman coming back and his future almost certainly in center field, the Dodgers may finally be looking to shake things up when the outfield is at full strength, which might make for some tough conversations but (hopefully) improved results.

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