Since going out to the best start of any defending World Series Champion in MLB history, the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen back to earth ever so slightly in the NL West.
Now sure, the team is still really good, has 12 wins in 18 games, and could still close things out with over 100 before October rolls around, but they are 4-6 over the last 10 games and just turned in the worst home loss in franchise history in a beatdown by a Chicago Cubs team that simply looked better across the board.
Some of that has to do with pitching, with Dave Roberts’ star-studded starting five already suffering multiple injuries, and the bullpen looking a bit less consistent than some expected, but game in and game out, one issue has remained clear: the Dodgers need one more guy at the bottom of their lineup.
Though 18 games, the Dodgers have gotten good-to-great efforts out of many of their top players, with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, and Tommy Edman all helping the team to win games both with their arms and their gloves, but their bottom three? The not-so-dynamic combination of Max Muncy, Michael Conforto, and Andy Pages? That trio is among the least productive three-man units in MLB, with Ohtani often going to bat without any man on base to help take advantage of his home run-hitting abilities.
While the Dodgers have tried to move things around to find the “best” solution for the future, with the team occasionally playing Edman at center field instead of second base, and rotating in the likes of Kiké Hermandez and Miguel Rojas to take advantage of their super-utility statuses, but none of it has really worked. The team acquired Esteury Ruiz in a trade from the A’s and Hyeseong Kim in free agency, but so far, that duo has remained in Triple-A, with no clear signs that things will change any time soon.
For every great play a player like Hernandez has made in the field, he’s had an at bat where he hasn’t even made meaningful contact, and where a player like Muncy would have given opposing pitches fits with double-digit pitch at-bats, the third baseman has struggled to get much going, leading some to wonder if the Dodgers neglected to build a balanced offense while focusing solely on star hunting at the more attractive, forward-facing positions.
Fortunately, while the Dodgers have never been afraid to go big-game hunting in pursuit of a player they like, in this case, they don’t really need to break the bank to land another star who can hit seventh; they just need to find a guy who can get on base near the bottom of the lineup while playing plus defense at either second base or center field.
Over the weekend, news broke that LA was in talks to acquire Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox but ultimately tabled those talks. Based on how the last few games have gone, they should probably get back to the negotiation tables stat, as he could be a solid enough fix to a major area of concern.
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Luis Robert Jr. would be a solid get for the Dodgers
Originally coming to America as a defector from Cuba in 2016, Robert has played some really good baseball for the White Sox over the last six seasons, including consideration for Rookie of the Year, both a Golden Glove and a Silver Slugger, and an All-Star berth in 2023, which serves as the high-water mark of his career so far.
And yet, in 2025, Robert has struggled in his 49 at-bats to start off the season. He has a WAR of just 0.1, the lowest mark of his career by a wide margin, and has just eight hits for his efforts, including just one home run and four RBIs. While he has been walked six times and has six stolen bases for his efforts, Robert is no longer the player circled on opposing scouting reports before they arrive in Chicago.
Place him on the Dodgers now and fans would no longer have to wonder which player will start in center field moving forward, as Robert would absolutely lock Edman in as the team’s second baseman moving forward, with players like Pages, Hernandez, Rojas, and Chris Taylor filling in around the lineup based on who is needed where in any given game.
Will Robert end up in Los Angeles before the trade deadline? Frankly, it’s hard to say but even if he isn’t the exact player the Dodgers end up snagging before the dog days of summer, a player with his general profile, an athletic fielder who can get on base before Ohtani turns over the lineup, would do wonders for LA, as right now, they simply have too many super-utility players without a clear presence in the middle of their outfield who can make contact and get where he needs to be both around the bases and in the field.
