The National League West is, without a doubt, the best division in MLB. The Colorado Rockies' existence drags it down a tad, but the four other teams in the division are all really tough to beat.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending World Series champions and have one of the most talented rosters the sport has ever seen. The San Diego Padres nearly knocked the Dodgers out of last year's postseason, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them finish what they started this time around. The San Francisco Giants have been one of MLB's biggest surprises and look extremely formidable. The Arizona Diamondbacks have gotten off to a sluggish start, but they're a talented team on paper.
Entering play on Thursday, the Dodgers lead the Giants by 1.0 game, and the Padres are 1.0 game behind San Francisco. Arizona's odds of winning the division are slim, but a 6.5-game deficit isn't impossible to come back from. This division might very well get decided by which team has the best trade deadline. Here's what each team needs to finish the job.
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What each NL West contending team needs to add to win the division
Arizona Diamondbacks: bullpen help
It might be a bit crazy to consider the Diamondbacks part of this race. They're 6.5 games back, have had pitching troubles all season long and just lost Corbin Burnes for the season. As unlikely as it is that they make a run at the division title, I don't think it's impossible for one reason: Their offense is fourth in the Majors in runs scored and third in OPS. It's a dynamic unit, and with better pitching, they'll have more luck gaining traction.
Arizona's pitching as a whole has really struggled, but there's reason to believe their rotation can be better even without Burnes. Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez all have ERAs above 5.00, which is just astonishing. If they can pitch like they have for a majority of their careers, which isn't impossible, the rotation will be much better. Their bullpen, though, is another story.
Arizona's 5.21 bullpen ERA is good for 27th in the Majors, and their 12 blown saves are tied for the fifth-most. Their bullpen has not performed well, and injuries to Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk, their two best relievers, haven't helped. The Diamondbacks must improve late in games if they want to get back into the race. Again, it's unlikely, but with the right moves and regression to the mean from their rotation, it isn't impossible.
Possible additions: Aroldis Chapman (BOS), Kenley Jansen (LAA), Kyle Finnegan (WSH)
San Diego Padres: left fielder
The Padres have star power everywhere you turn, but left field is a glaring hole on this team. Padres left fielders rank 28th in the Majors with a 55 WRC+ and 25th with -0.6 fWAR. That is a problem. Whether it's been Jason Heyward, Brandon Lockridge or Tyler Wade, whoever the Padres have used at that position has struggled.
Fortunately, if there's a GM Padres fans can trust to plug a hole in an aggressive manner, it's A.J. Preller. San Diego has prospects it can trade, and if there's an optimal fit, Preller will get the deal done, even if he has to overpay slightly.
An outfielder like Jarren Duran, who they've been linked to, could be the difference between the Padres having a well-rounded lineup and having a black hole in the lower third of their order.
Possible additions: Jarren Duran (BOS), Taylor Ward (LAA), Kyle Stowers (MIA)
San Francisco Giants: big bat(s)
The Giants have the best bullpen ERA in the league (2.42) and the second-best overall ERA (3.12) in the Majors, so it's abundantly clear that pitching is not their issue. Their offense, on the other hand, is a problem.
The Giants rank 15th in the Majors in runs scored, are tied for 21st in home runs and are tied for 23rd in OPS. Sure, Oracle Park is a pitcher's park, and ranking 15th in runs scored isn't horrible, but it's hard to envision this lineup scoring enough runs to win games against elite competition. With that in mind, they need a big bat.
Ideally, that bat would be good enough defensively to replace Dominic Smith as their primary first baseman, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers. Whoever the biggest name available is, the Giants should be doing what they can to get a deal done and simply make it work. They're a big bat or two away from being serious contenders.
Possible additions: Ryan O'Hearn (BAL), Yandy Diaz (TB), Marcell Ozuna (ATL)
Los Angeles Dodgers: better health
This feels like a bit of a copout answer, but am I wrong? This Dodgers roster is stacked from top to bottom. Honestly, when healthy, they might have the best lineup, rotation and bullpen in the game. Their issue is the team simply cannot stay healthy, particularly on the pitching side.
Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell and Gavin Stone are among their starting pitchers currently on the IL. Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol are among their relievers sidelined. There are elite pitchers hurt everywhere you turn; overall, they have 14 (!) pitchers out with injury, which is hard to fathom. Even some of the healthy pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Michael Kopech all have major concerns. The same can be said about Shohei Ohtani when he resumes his two-way duties.
So, yeah, the Dodgers simply need better injury luck. Knowing Andrew Friedman, he'll likely make a move or two to bolster their pitching staff anyway, but the biggest gift the Dodgers can receive is a return of some of their injured pitchers and the continued health of the pitchers currently on their active roster.