Featured Image Credit: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
The 2010s was quite the decade for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over the past ten years, the storied National League franchise won two National League pennants (and probably would’ve won a World Series if not for some shameful actions of an opponent, but that is a whole other conversation for a different time), seven National League Western Division titles, was purchased by the Guggenheim partners for $2 billion, changed managers twice, made a seismic General Manager/Presidential regime change, employed two league MVPs, a three-time Cy Young award winner, back-to-back Rookies-of-the-Year, and of course, launched the $8.35 billion Sportsnet LA network (which is still unavailable to much of the greater Los Angeles area).
As we wind down this decade, it’s time to look back at some of the best boys in blue over the last decade and assemble the Los Angeles Dodgers team of the decade. Putting together the best roster of players at the top of their game over a ten year period is not as simple as it may seem, especially for a team like the Dodgers that has seen a great deal of success over that period of time.
Players on this team were considered only for their time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sorry Chase Utley, I know your best years were in Philadelphia, and believe me I’d love to slot you in, but we’re only looking at players’ careers while they were members of the DODGERS. Aside from this, players will only be considered for their Dodgers seasons during this decade (2010-2019). That means guys like Rafael Furcal, Chad Billingsley, and James Loney were unable to rely upon their strong seasons from the previous decade.
The goal while building this team is to assemble the strongest, the most balanced force of 2010s Dodgers that would give the team its best chance to win. Every player’s spot in the starting lineup is set according to their best season in the blue.
Without further ado, let me introduce to the Los Angeles Dodgers team of the 2010s…
The Bench
Russell Martin
Every baseball team needs a backup catcher on the roster, and Russell fits into this category. Martin put up some very good numbers with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the late 2000s and his time in Pittsburgh was good enough to land him a lucrative $82 million contract. With that being said, Martin only played with the Dodgers for the first and last year of this decade. Suffice to say, he was never a part of the team’s core this decade. Nevertheless, he always provided the team with above-average defense AND major league at-bats, which is more than Rod Barajas, Dioner Navarro, Austin Barnes, and A.J. Ellis could say.
Martin’s best season this decade for the Dodgers was 2010, where he accumulated 3.1 wins above a league-average player and racked up 15 defensive runs saved.
Andre Ethier
Ah, Dre, a true fan favorite. Being sent from Oakland’s farm system in the Milton Bradley trade, Ethier made a name for himself in Los Angeles, being selected to the All-Star Game twice while picking up a Silver Slugger and Golden Glove along the way. While the $85 million contract he signed with the Dodgers turned out to be a disaster because of injury, when he was ON the field, Ethier was an above-average, multi-dimensional player.
Andre will always have a spot in the hearts of Dodgers fans, being one of the few bright spots on an otherwise lackluster team at the beginning of this decade. He retired as a Dodger (the only team he ever played for) following the 2017 season, with an excellent .285 batting average and 122 weighted runs created plus(wRC+).
Ethier’s best season this decade was 2011, where he put up a weighted on-base average of .345, with wRC+ of 122. While Dre most certainly has better offensive seasons, 2011 was his most COMPLETE season, as he was not only an above-average offensive player, he was a positive player defensively as well.
Enrique Hernandez
Another fan favorite for his funky dance moves, banana costumes and radiating sense of confidence, Hernandez is actually a pretty good ballplayer who can play every and I mean EVERY position on the diamond. Hernandez is the lefty killer who I am certain is grateful that Madison Bumgarner is staying in the division.
Hernandez’s best season was 2018, where he stepped up and claimed the team’s starting shortstop job in the first half of the season, prior to the acquisition of Manny Machado. Racking up a WAR of 3.1 with a wRC+ of 118, Hernandez put up numbers that any team would love to have in their everyday lineup.
Chris Taylor
The light-hitting middle infielder who was dealt from the Mariners to Los Angeles for the former top pitching prospect, Zach Lee (yes, you read that right) has turned himself into quite the utility player. Similar to Hernandez, Taylor does not have a true starting role, but his versatility has afforded him the opportunity to see a lot of playing time.
Taylor’s best season easily came in 2017 when he seemingly came out of nowhere to claim the everyday job in centerfield. A .850 OPS and 126 wRC+ illustrates just how strong of a season Taylor had when he fell just shy of a 5 WAR.
Joc Pederson
When creating this team, I had a hard time placing Joc in this spot. I just as easily could have put Hanley Ramirez in Joc’s spot, but with two more infielders on the bench that are also right-handed batters, Joc seemed to be the smarter pick. Besides that, it’s not far fetched to assume that you and the other Dodgers fans reading this would much rather see Pederson here over Ramirez.
Pederson’s best season was this past one, 2019, where he played in 149 games, starting in nearly every game against righty pitchers. Joc’s WAR would’ve been better than it was this season if the Dodgers didn’t force him to play the first base, which was completely foreign to him, over the summer.
The Starting Lineup
1.Corey Seager SS
Seager’s only challenger at the shortstop position this decade was former-Marlin, Hanley Ramirez. While Ramirez flashed signs of being an elite offensive player in Los Angeles, the 2016 Rookie-of-the-year was a pretty obvious choice, as he had just as much offensive prowess and the superior glove.
Injuries cut Seager’s 2018 season short prematurely and with the exception of the final month of the 2019 season, Seager never truly looked like he has returned to his elite form. With that being said, Seager is still so young at only 25 and he likely hasn’t even entered his prime.
Corey’s best season was his rookie campaign in 2016, where he put up a .877 OPS and a wRC+ of 136. He got on base at an elite rate, got meaningful hits and provided his team with solid defense at a premium position.
2. Justin Turner 3B
After losing Adrian Beltre in the winter of 2004, the Dodgers had a revolving door at third base, unable to find their franchise guy at the hot corner. This went on for a decade until an underachieving red-haired utility infielder by the name of Justin Turner signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization weeks prior to Spring Training in 2014. His versatility earned him a spot on the roster and what a pleasant surprise he turned out to be, hitting .345 across 109 games.
The following season, Turned seized the starting role at third base from Juan Uribe and the rest, as they say, is history. The kid from SoCal made Chavez Ravine his home, transitioning from bench bat to franchise player. Thanks to a change in his offensive approach, Turner evolved into a consistent middle-of-the-order bat for a team that has won a TON of games over the past decade.
Suffice to say, Turner claimed the 2010s spot at the hot corner uncontested.
JT’s best season came during his lone All-Star campaign in 2017, where he racked up a 5.4 WAR with a WRC+ of 151 and OPS of .945 across 130 games.
3. Cody Bellinger CF
What a treat it has been to watch Cody Bellinger. One league MVP, Rookie-of-the-Year honor, Silver Slugger, Golden Glove and a pair of All-Star Game appearances later, the five-tool superstar has cemented himself as one of baseball’s elite talents.
Without a doubt, Bellinger’s best season was this past one, where he put up a monstrous OPS of 1.035 with a wRC+ of 162, hit 47 home runs and drove in 115 runs en route to a National League Most Valuable Player award.
4. Matt Kemp LF
It’s easy for people to forget just how dominant of a force Matt Kemp was offensively, mainly because he was overshadowed by the rest of his team’s subpar play during the early part of this decade.
The Dodgers rewarded their young star with an albatross of a contract over the offseason prior to the 2012 season, paying him $160 million over 8 years (the biggest financial commitment the team had ever made at the time). Sadly, the bright star faded fast, dealing with a multitude of injuries that absolutely derailed his career. Kemp was sent down the coast following the 2014 season, where he never rebounded like the Padres hoped he would. San Diego shipped the scuffling outfielder to Atlanta at the trade deadline in 2016, where he went on to become an absolute liability for a year and a half.
In a strange swap of bad salaries, Los Angeles actually re-acquired Kemp prior to the 2018 season. While there was no certainty whether or not Kemp would even crack the Dodgers’ roster, a good spring turned into an even better first half, in which Matt Kemp shocked the world and became a starter in the 2018 mid-summer classic. Though his time is over in LA, fans will forever love Kemp and remember him fondly.
Kemp’s best season was 2011 when he should’ve claimed the MVP award. To add insult to injury, Ryan Braun (who won the 2011 MVP) got exposed for the cheater his and a stain will forever be placed upon that award that should have been Matty’s. As good of a season as Bellinger put up in 2019, Kemp’s 2011 season was the best by any Dodgers position player this decade, as he came up one stole base shy of joining the exclusive 40-40 club.
5. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Gonzalez was the one player between Boston and Los Angeles in the blockbuster trade of 2012 who actually proved to be an asset to their new team. Gonzalez played out the final month of the 2012 season for his new team, after that he went on to put up 4 four very solid seasons as the Dodgers’ everyday first baseman before injuries essentially put a screeching halt to his career in 2017.
A-Gon’s best season for the Dodgers was 2015 where he racked an even 3 wins, with a .830 OPS and 129 wRC+.
6. Max Muncy 2B
Second Base was easily the trickiest spot to choose from, with the Dodgers never possessing a great true second baseman this decade. Blake DeWitt ushered in a decade of mediocrity at the position. Guys like Ryan Theriot and Mark Ellis were nothing more than temporary placeholders for an ongoing spot of uncertainty. Dee Gordon seemed to be the second baseman of the future but he hit with no power whatsoever and was defensively challenged. Howie Kendrick was a legitimate answer in 2015 but the team shifted him to left field the following season. Chase Utley is a Hall-of-Famer in my eyes but he was a hollow shell of his former self by the time he got to LA. Logan Forsythe and Brian Dozier were absolute powder kegs, meanwhile, Taylor and Hernandez were often needed elsewhere in the field.
Due to his offensive prowess and the ability to be somewhat hidden in the field due to the modern analytical defense that often utilizes shifts, Max Muncy was the obvious choice here. Who would’ve thought the stout first baseman buried too deep in the Oakland Athletics depth chart to keep a spot on the active roster would become the best second baseman of the decade for one of MLB’s premier clubs? Not me.
Muncy’s two years in Los Angeles have been nothing short of remarkable, as he’s transformed himself into one of the best offensive players in the league, launching 70 home runs and boasting an OPS of .931. Not to mention, he has consistently been one of the team’s most clutch hitters in October.
Max is just one of the latest examples of the Dodgers front office doing what it does best, finding diamonds in the rough.
7. Yasmani Grandal C
Look, I get that this is not a popular pick among fans who watched this man do nothing but implode both offensively and defensively in October. Grandal’s performances in October were so poor that he lost the starting job to Austin Barnes during both of the team’s World Series runs.
With that being said, Grandal remains one of the game’s best catchers, as he’s a plus defender, elite pitch framer and can hit for power.
2016 was Grandal’s best all-around season with the Dodgers, nearly accumulating a WAR of 6, he slugged well enough to pick up a wRC+ of 121 and a wOBA of .350, all while supplying his team with the elite defense behind the dish. Not easy to accomplish.
8. Yasiel Puig RF
Puig being the eight here is a testament to how talented this team was over the past ten years. Yasiel Puig defected from Cuba during the early part of this decade and the Dodgers committed a 7-year contract to him before he ever even played a game in the United States. That goes to show just the kind of raw talent this man possessed.
On June 21st, the Dodgers sat at 31-42 to begin the season, a slew of injuries paved the way for Yasiel Puig to make his Major League debut on the 22nd, and the Dodgers never looked back. Puig reinvigorated the franchise, helping lead the team to its first postseason appearance since 2009. Puig followed up an intriguing rookie campaign with an even better sophomore season. Unfortunately, Puig was never able to return to the level of play in his first two seasons, even being demoted to the minors in 2016. After his reality check, Puig rebounded somewhat to put up very respectable numbers over his final two seasons in Los Angeles.
While Puig was certainly an asset for the Dodgers, he never became the franchise player we all thought he would become. Too good to be considered a bust, Puig simply underwhelmed at times.
The Starting Rotation
1. Clayton Kershaw LHP
Come on, was there even a question about who would be named the Dodgers ace of the decade. Even if Kershaw absolutely implodes for the rest of his career (which I don’t believe he will), he will still be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. With a career ERA of 2.44, 2,464 total strikeouts and a career WHIP of 1.01 coupled with three Cy Young awards, a pitching triple crown, eight All-Star game appearances, and a National League MVP, Kershaw hasn’t just been the best Dodgers pitcher this decade, he’s been MLB’s best pitcher this decade.
2. Zack Greinke RHP
Greinke is one of those guys that’s currently on the cusp in discussions of active players who deserve a nod into the Hall. If he is able to end his career strongly, perhaps he will receive enough votes to get in. I doubt it, but who knows?
Nevertheless, Greinke is an excellent pitcher who has put together a long, remarkable career. His three-year stint in Los Angeles was some of the best years of his career, leading all of baseball in ERA during what wound up being his final year with the Dodgers. Greinke continues to age like fine wine, but the Dodgers just so happened to capture him right in the midst of his prime.
3. Walker Buehler RHP
And while we’re on the topic of exceptional righties who wore number twenty-one for the Dodgers this decade, here is another one. At only 25 years of age, we are yet to see the best of the brilliant 2019 All-Star who has claimed the role of Dodgers ace. This past season Walker Buehler accumulated a WAR of 5 with an ERA- of 69 (haha), which is quite impressive from a pitcher who is yet to even enter his prime. The Dodgers better try and win a World Series in the next couple years because this young man is going to (rightfully) demand a king’s ransom the moment he becomes eligible for free agency.
4. Hyun-Jin Ryu LHP
Nicknamed the Korean Monster, Ryu was the Dodgers’ third longest-tenured player until he signed a four-year contract with the Blue Jays. Back before the 2013 season, when the Dodgers signed Ryu as an international free agent out of Korea, I doubt anybody imagined him putting together the career he did with Los Angeles, and I’m certain skepticism grew between 2015 and 2016, where Ryu tossed a total of four and two-thirds innings. However, Ryu spent most of 2017 in the team’s starting rotation, proving that he was a reliable arm.
The Korean Monster really kicked it into gear over the past two seasons, where he placed behind only Jacob deGrom in terms of earned run average compared to all qualified Major League starters. He now lands in Toronto, where I am sure he will make Blue Jays fans joyous.
5. Rich Hill LHP
This final rotation spot was somewhat up in the air, as guys like Chad Billingsley and Kenta Maeda earned themselves a fair mention, but the soon-to-be 40-year-old southpaw was the only legitimate choice here. To call Hill a late bloomer would be an understatement, as he didn’t establish himself as a legitimate starting pitcher until the age of 36 when he was dealt at the trade deadline from the Oakland Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since then, Hill has gone on to post an earned run average of 2.82 over the past three and a half seasons in Los Angeles. Rich Hill had also been the Dodgers’ most consistent pitcher in October, putting up a 2.88 ERA against the best competition baseball has to offer.
The Bullpen
Kenley Jansen
Criticize him I may, but I can tell you this much, Kenley Jansen was the only reliever I knew for a fact would make the team. Despite a serious dip in production over the past two seasons, we mustn’t forget how dominant Jansen was between 2010 and 2017, where he racked up a WAR just north of 17 and an ERA- under 50. That is unheard of and akin to the number Mariano Rivera posted with the New York Yankees. Suffice to say, Kenley Jansen is LA’s closer of the decade.
Brandon Morrow
You all know the mantra ballclubs have when it comes to relief pitchers, use them up while they’re good because they are volatile. This is precisely what the Dodgers did with Brandon Morrow during his lone season with the club. Brandon Morrow is actually quite a sad story, after being picked fifth overall, two spots ahead of Clayton Kershaw, by the Seattle Mariners in 2006, Morrow went on to become one of the biggest busts in recent history due to constant injuries nearly every season.
Morrow’s combination of an injury-riddled past and battle with type-one diabetes made for such an incredible story when he put together his most valuable season, serving as the setup man to Kenley Jansen in his lone year as a Dodger. Despite only being with the Dodgers for only one season, Morrow will forever be a Dodgers legend for his efforts down the stretch in 2017, as he helped lead the Dodgers to their first NL Pennant in nearly three decades.
Pedro Baez
Two years ago, I would have laughed in your face if you told me that I would be placing Pedro Baez on this list, but a decreased home runs per nine and an increased strikeout to walk rate over the past two seasons has landed Baez right in the back end of this decade’s bullpen. The former infielder has hung around for quite a while actually, being part of the bullpen since 2014. However, problems with the longball kept Baez off some postseason rosters during this team’s run. But when push came to shove and Kenley Jansen began to hit his decline, Petey really stepped it up and has become the Dodgers’ most reliable relief pitcher. He has also become quite the cult figure as well ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).
Joe Blanton
Similar to Brandon Morrow, Joe Blanton lands on this list due to his lone season of service as Dave Robert’s setup man to Kenley Jansen. Despite giving up a costly grand slam to Miguel Montero, that wound up sealing game one of the 2016 NLCS for the Chicago Cubs, Joe Blanton arguably had his best season that year, as he was asked to convert from a starting pitcher to a reliever. A career-best .192 opponents’ average and 2.48 earned run average lands Blanton a spot on this list because I know all Dodgers fans would pounce on the opportunity to have that level of production coming out of the pen late in games.
J.P. Howell
Ah, enough of the righties, let’s focus on the southpaws! Our first pitcher in this portion of the bullpen is one most of you will remember but likely forgot, James Phillip Howell. If there was ever a Dodger who never got the love he deserved this decade, it was J.P. Howell, who posted a 2.52 earned run average and stratospheric 0.495 home runs per nine rate across his four years in Los Angeles. J.P. Howell WAS the reliever Dodgers fans wish the team would bring in every trade deadline, an all-purpose lefty who eats up innings, limits baserunners and doesn’t allow the long ball.
Julio Urias
It’s been about three-and-a-half years since Julio Urias made his major league debut and he still has not developed into the ace the entire front office is sure he will become. Granted, this is not Julio’s fault, as he was cheated out of his 2017 and 2018 seasons due to a rare rotator cuff injury, where many were unsure how he would recover. Thankfully, Julio has recovered at quite an impressive rate, being an instrumental part of the bullpen down the stretch in 2018 and 2019. Next decade, expect to see him in the rotation instead of the pen.
Alex Wood
Wood will forever live as a legend in the hearts of Dodgers fans because he turned in arguably the best start in a pivotal game 4 during the 2017 World Series. While Wood did see brief action as a reliever at various points over his career as a Dodger, he was primarily a starter, but his time as a reliever and inability to crack the rotation pushes him to the pen as a long man. Wood really came into his own in 2017, where he made the National League All-Star team and ended the season with a record of 16-3 and a 2.72 earned run average.
Despite all the success this organization saw this decade, they were never able to put together a World Series winner, I wonder if this team would break that curse.