Los Angeles Dodgers: building a champion

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 03: Andrew Frieddman, the President of Baseball Operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers, looks on with manager Dave Robberts during team workouts on October 3, 2018, one day before the 2018 National League Division Series kicks off between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have used a balanced method to build their postseason roster, getting production through multiple pathways.

When it comes to building a major league roster, MLB teams have a few distinct paths to acquire players. The “old school” way is to draft a player out of high school or college and develop him through your farm system until he’s ready to produce in the big leagues. Two of the Dodgers best starting pitchers and two good position players came through the draft.

Other ways to acquire big league talent include free agent signings, both domestic and international, trades, waivers and purchasing a player from another team. When it comes to the Dodgers’ 25-man NLCS roster, we find key players acquired through every avenue except the waiver wire. Unlike the Brewers, who get the bulk of their value through players acquired in trades, the Dodgers have a good mix of valuable players among trade acquisitions, drafted players and free agent signings.

With four teams still vying for the 2018 World Series trophy, I thought it would be interesting to look at how each of these four teams acquired the players on their 25-man League Championship Series roster and how much value those players have contributed this season. Previously, the Milwaukee Brewers were analyzed. Next up are the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Of the four teams remaining in the postseason, the Dodgers were second in number of players acquired through trades. Only the Brewers had more. That being said, while the Brewers received 87 percent of their value from players acquired through trades or signed as major league free agents, the Dodgers received just 59 percent of their value from players acquired through those two avenues.

Of the four teams left in the postseason, the Dodgers have received production in the most well-balanced manner, getting good production from trade acquisitions, draft picks, and free agency, both domestic and international. pic.twitter.com/eMb0WZCVY0
— BobbyBaseball (@bballonthebrain) October 16, 2018

Here’s the Dodgers’ breakdown for number of players acquired through the different pathways:

Here’s the Dodgers’ breakdown for value accrued by these players:

Let’s look at those different categories in more detail.