The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series after eliminating the Atlanta Braves, but the offense posted a .289 slugging percentage across the series—the worst mark in franchise postseason history and 147 points below their regular-season figure. The pitching staff allowed 2.4 runs per game. The lineup scored 3.2.
The Dodgers managed six extra-base hits in four games. Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith combined to go 8-for-43 with one home run. Atlanta's pitching staff, featuring a bullpen that posted a 5.01 ERA during the regular season, held Los Angeles to a .198 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers won three one-run games. They scored more than four runs once.
The performance matters because it exposes the roster's offensive depth problem heading into an offseason where president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman faces $92 million in committed payroll before arbitration. Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in 2025 while recovering from elbow surgery, meaning the Dodgers cannot rely on his dual contribution to mask lineup construction gaps. The team's next-highest-paid position player after Ohtani and Betts is Max Muncy at $18 million, and Muncy went 2-for-15 against Atlanta.
Sponsorship and broadcast partners are watching the offensive inconsistency. Spectrum SportsNet LA pays the Dodgers approximately $334 million annually as part of a deal that runs through 2038, but the channel remains unavailable in roughly 40 percent of Los Angeles-area households due to ongoing carriage disputes. Postseason games air nationally, sidestepping the blackout issue, but a lineup that goes silent for stretches reduces the appointment-viewing appeal that justifies those rights fees. The Dodgers drew 3.9 million fans in 2024, first in baseball, but October revenue comes from advancing deep, not just showing up.
Friedman's winter priorities now include middle-order right-handed power and a second-line starter behind Tyler Glasnow. The free-agent market offers Juan Soto, but his price point starts near $50 million annually, and the Dodgers already carry $460 million in deferred money owed to Ohtani and Betts through the next decade. The more realistic path involves a reunion with Teoscar Hernández, who hit 33 home runs this season on a one-year, $23.5 million deal and is now a free agent. Hernández went 4-for-16 against Atlanta with no extra-base hits.
The NLCS matchup against either the Phillies or Mets will test whether the Dodgers' pitching depth can continue to carry a lineup that has now posted a sub-.300 slugging percentage in consecutive postseason series. The team's October payroll sits near $241 million, the highest in baseball, and ownership group Guggenheim Partners has shown willingness to exceed luxury-tax thresholds, but the front office's algorithmic approach to roster construction assumes offensive regression to the mean. The Atlanta series suggests the mean may be lower than modeled.
Friedman will meet with Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, sometime in early November to discuss the pitching rehab timeline and whether the team should pursue a frontline starter or rely on internal options. The answer depends partly on whether the offense proves capable of supporting a pitching staff that just posted a 2.81 ERA across four games and still required late-inning heroics to advance.
The Dodgers' NLCS roster must be set by October 18, assuming a Game 5 in the other Division Series. That gives Friedman roughly 72 hours to decide whether to activate any injured position players or trust the same lineup that just scraped past a Braves team that finished six games behind them in the regular-season standings.
The takeaway
The Dodgers' worst postseason offensive showing in franchise history exposes lineup depth risk heading into a winter where Ohtani won't pitch and Friedman faces $92 million in committed payroll before arbitration.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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