Dodgers Dugout: Looking At The Nl West Third Basemen And Shortstops

Hi, and invited to different version of Dodgers Dugout. My sanction is Houston Mitchell. Today we proceed our bid looking astatine nan NL West, position by position.

NL West, nan 3rd basemen

Let’s look astatine nan 3rd basemen and shorstops, classed from champion to worst. Click connected nan player’s sanction to beryllium taken to their afloat stats page.

San Diego
Manny Machado
Last season: .275/.335/.460, 33 doubles, 27 homers, 95 RBIs, 118 OPS+
Career: .279/.338/.486, 94 OPS+, 124 OPS+

Though, arsenic Yogi Berra famously said, “Nobody likes Manny Machado,” you person to springiness nan devil his due. Machado is 1 of nan champion 3rd basemen successful nan game, not conscionable nan NL West. He hits for mean and powerfulness and is simply a protect stalwart astatine third. It has already been 8 years since he was pinch nan Dodgers.

San Francisco
Matt Chapman
Last season: .231/.340/.430, 23 doubles, 21 homers, 61 RBIs, 120 OPS+
Career: .240/.330/.458, 119 OPS+

Similar to Max Muncy offensively, Chapman gets nan motion because he is simply a five-time Gold Glove victor astatine 3rd and stays successful nan lineup much consistently.

Dodgers
Max Muncy
Last season: .243/.376/.470, 10 doubles, 19 homers, 67 RBIs, 136 OPS+
Career: .229/.354/.474, 124 OPS+

There will travel a clip this play erstwhile Muncy will spell connected 1 of his notorious acold streaks. Some will opportunity nan Dodgers should dump him. Nonsense. He is 1 of nan 10 champion 3rd basemen successful nan convention and is simply a bargain astatine only $10 cardinal this season.

Arizona
Nolan Arenado
Last season: .237/.289/.377, 18 doubles, 12 homers, 52 RBIs, 87 OPS+
Career: .282/.338/.507, 119 OPS+

He vanished 3rd successful MVP voting successful 2022, but has been successful diminution since then. Can a caller squad thief him recapture immoderate erstwhile glory?

Colorado
Kyle Karros
Last season: .226/.308/.377, 4 doubles, 1 homer, 9 RBIs, 58 OPS+
Career: .226/.308/.377, 58 OPS+

Yes, he’s nan boy of erstwhile Dodger Eric Karros. Don’t fto those violative numbers fool you, they were successful constricted playing time. He is 1 of nan Rockies’ apical prospects and has a agleam future. He is only 23.

Shortstop

Dodgers
Mookie Betts
Last season: .258/.326/.406, 23 doubles, 20 homers, 82 RBIs, 104 OPS+
Career: .290/.369/.512, 135 OPS+

I’ve been penning this newsletter for 12 seasons now, and sometimes I get things very, very wrong. I was against moving Betts to short. But I was wrong. He’s already Gold Glove level there, and here’s guessing his bat rebounds to elite levels this season, because 1 point I person learned is to not stake against Mookie Betts.

Arizona
Geraldo Perdomo
Last season: .290/.389/.462, 33 doubles, 20 homers, 100 RBIs, 136 OPS+
Career: .253/.348/.374, 101 OPS+

If his caller level of discourtesy reached past play is for existent (his erstwhile precocious successful homers was six), past he could easy move up to No. 1 connected this list.

San Francisco
Willy Adames
Last season: .225/.318/.421, 22 doubles, 30 homers, 87 RBIs, 111 OPS+
Career: .244/.321/.440, 109 OPS+

He signed a seven-year, $182-million woody pinch nan Giants earlier past season, past sewage disconnected to a horrible start, dampening his wide numbers, which were beautiful bully contempt that. There are a batch of bully shortstops successful nan NL West.

San Diego
Xander Bogaerts
Last season: .263/.328/.391, 30 doubles, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, 99 OPS+
Career: .287/.350/.446, 114 OPS+

Still a bully fielder, but his discourtesy has regressed, arsenic he has been beneath mean nan past 2 seasons.

Colorado
Ezequiel Tovar
Last season: .253/.294/.400, 18 doubles, 9 homers, 33 RBIs, 83 OPS+
Career: .258/.291/.429, 88 OPS+

Tovar has ne'er met a transportation he wouldn’t plaything at, but erstwhile he does link he hits it hard. He won nan Gold Glove successful 2024, but past play was a setback for him, successful portion owed to injuries.

In lawsuit you missed it

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And finally

Max Muncy hits an important location tally successful Game 7 of nan 2025 World Series. Watch and perceive here.

Until adjacent time....

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