Ranking MLB’s 10 ‘Real’ Contenders for the 2024 World Series

– There probably isn’t a team in baseball with a better group of five hitters in their lineup than the Dodgers, who have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Will Smith.

– Michael Kopech looks like one of the best trade-deadline pickups, as he hasn’t allowed a run in eight appearances with the Dodgers.

– The Dodgers have a lot of talented starting pitchers, but between Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty, Walker, Buehler, Gavin Stone, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Bobby Miller, there’s almost no certainty in terms of who will be healthy and/or effective when the playoffs roll around.

– With Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson, the Dodgers have a bunch of arms who have been asked to record saves before. But they don’t necessarily have a guy who you feel certain the game is over with if he enters in the ninth.

While Roberts has helped guide the Dodgers to three NL pennants and a World Series title in 2020, there have been quite a few postseason disappointments during his nine seasons at the helm. If the Dodgers have an early October exit again, you wonder whether Roberts will be around for a 10th season as skipper in LA.