The Dodgers reached the All-Star break with the best record in baseball, and the path there was anything but smooth.
At 61-36, Los Angeles has already absorbed injuries to Will Smith, Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Edwin Díaz, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. For most clubs, that kind of hit would have knocked the season off course. For the back-to-back defending World Series champions, it has mostly been a series of detours.
The bigger picture is hard to ignore. Through 97 games, the Dodgers own a plus-149 run differential, the best mark in MLB, and that gap makes the record look earned rather than lucky. If they ever get all the way healthy, they still look built to chase a third straight championship.
The biggest issue in the first-half grades is also the most familiar one: health.
Behind the plate, Dalton Rushing is on track to have as many plate appearances as Smith by the end of the week, a telling sign of how long Smith’s neck injury has lingered. Rushing’s early burst at the plate has cooled, and he has also had mental lapses that don’t always show up in the box score. The ceiling is obvious, but the Dodgers are still waiting for the version of the position that includes Smith.
At second base, the Dodgers have had to patch things together without a true star. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy remain All-Stars in their mid-30s, but the middle infield has been a mix of Alex Freeland, Hyeseong Kim, Miguel Rojas and Santiago Espinal before Edman returned. That group has delivered replacement-level production, which is enough to keep the machine moving, even if it doesn’t exactly light up a report card.
Betts has been the most confounding piece of the puzzle. An eight-time All-Star, he spent the middle of June carrying a batting average below .200. His recent surge - .310/.355/.520 over his last 25 games - gives the Dodgers a reason to believe the grade at that spot can still climb.
In center field, Andy Pages has become a major win for Los Angeles, standing out both at the plate and in the field. The corners, though, have been a different story.
Teoscar Hernández remains the kind of hitter who can run hot in a hurry, but he’ll need one of those stretches to pull his 96 OPS+ back up. Kyle Tucker’s numbers tell a blunter story: his declining bat speed and contact rate match the .244/.341/.375 line pretty cleanly.
Only the Dodgers could pay the 29-year-old $60 million in 2026 and not collapse.
The rotation has been a strength in a way that only deep, expensive, and very good teams can manage. Only the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers have gotten more WAR from their starters. Los Angeles’ six-man rotation has also been the best in baseball at eating innings, and that has paired neatly with a deep lineup to keep every game within reach.
There’s still a question at the back end. Emmet Sheehan, Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer leave room for improvement, and the front office has to decide whether Snell and Glasnow are enough or whether the Aug. 3 deadline calls for a move.
The bullpen has given Roberts plenty to work with. Tanner Scott, Edgardo Henriquez, Will Klein, Alex Vesia and Brock Stewart all finished the first half with sub-3.00 ERAs, while Jack Dreyer’s 3.03 ERA somehow makes an excellent number sound even better. Scott’s 13 saves and 0.776 WHIP also give Roberts something to weigh once the $69 million free-agent addition returns from the injured list.
Roberts, who is always going to be a target when things go sideways, deserves credit for handling the injury pileup better than in years past. Rushing has already created plenty of “difficult conversation” material, and more could be coming with Sasaki, Lauer and possibly Díaz or Scott.
The Dodgers’ defense and the way Roberts has stretched his top three starters have both played their part, too. Those details don’t always grab headlines, but they’ve helped keep Los Angeles on top anyway.
In Other News...
Andrew Friedman May Regret What He Gave Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tuckers first season in Los Angeles has been more steady than spectacular, which is part of why the Dodgers are already getting a reminder of how unusual his contract is. The outfielder has been average on both sides of the ball so far, and in a season where every roster decision gets magnified, that matters for a team that built its reputation on keeping as much flexibility as possible.
Andrew Friedman has long been known for avoiding the kind of player-friendly escape hatches Tucker received, so this deal stands out as a real departure from the Dodgers usual playbook. If Tuckers production stays in this range, the front office could be staring at a situation it has spent years trying to avoid, with the player holding far more leverage over what comes next than Friedman typically allows. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Cut Ties With Young Pitcher After Sudden Downward Turn
A rough 2026 season at Single-A has cost one of the Dodgers young pitching projects a spot in the organization, after a sudden downturn that became hard to ignore. The right-hander had been part of the clubs international pipeline since signing in December 2023, and his path through the lower minors had already featured a mix of encouraging moments and uneven results before this years struggles took hold.
The final outing on July 8 was especially difficult, and it fit the broader picture of a pitcher who could not find any rhythm this summer. Over his limited work at Single-A, he was hit with a sky-high ERA and issued more walks than strikeouts, a combination that left the Dodgers with little choice as they moved on and opened the door to whatever comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Let A Yankees Sweep Slip Away In Familiar Fashion
The Dodgers had the sweep within reach after taking the opener of their doubleheader against the Yankees, but the night settled into the kind of grind that has too often followed this club when the bats go quiet. Los Angeles added Kyle Hurt as the 27th man for the twin bill, and the right-hander got into the game before heading back to Triple-A, another reminder of how much the Dodgers had to piece together as they tried to finish off New York.
Instead, the offense managed only one run on four hits and four walks, leaving the bullpen to carry the load for most of the second game. Los Angeles got eight innings from its relievers and still came away empty, with Evan Phillips taking the loss after the Dodgers could not protect a tie game late. It was a familiar kind of letdown for a team that had already done the hard part earlier in the day. [Read more 🡒]